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Planning board debates limiting Open Development Area code amendment to existing landlocked lots
Summary
The board discussed a town‑board request to draft criteria for Open Development Areas (ODAs). Members favored restricting the code to existing landlocked parcels with dwellings and established rights‑of‑way, and asked staff to prepare a draft resolution and parcel spreadsheet for the next meeting.
The Planning Board spent the latter portion of its March 3 meeting discussing a proposed Open Development Area (ODA) code amendment requested by the Town Board. The code would establish criteria and documentation for allowing development on landlocked parcels.
Board members debated whether to craft a wide‑ranging law for future conditions or to limit the amendment to existing landlocked clusters that already contain dwellings and established rights‑of‑way. Several members recommended limiting ODA provisions to existing properties with residences and recorded access agreements to avoid enabling new development in currently undeveloped areas.
Concerns included emergency access (fire/EMS), road maintenance and signage, and a need to require confirmation from emergency services where access is constrained. The group favored a short, focused application checklist modeled on a 2015 planning‑board checklist (six to seven items) and discussed charging a fee to cover staff review time.
Staff recommended two possible approaches used by other municipalities: a town‑wide blanket ODA that is then limited by criteria to only specific preexisting parcels, or a parcel‑by‑parcel submittal process. The board asked staff to refine a parcel inventory (spreadsheet) of candidate landlocked clusters and to prepare a draft resolution for the planning board to forward to the town board at the next meeting.
Why it matters: the ODA code will determine how landlocked properties can gain legal access for development, affecting property owners, neighbors and emergency services across the town. Board members emphasized keeping the initial code concise and tied to existing dwellings and access agreements.
Next steps: staff will tighten and circulate the parcel spreadsheet and prepare a draft resolution for the planning board’s next meeting for consideration and forwarding to the town board.
