Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Height Limits topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents urge commission not to raise village height limit to 40 feet
Summary
During a section on zoning-district regulations residents repeatedly urged keeping the 35-foot maximum, saying a 40-foot limit would permit three-story/flat-roof buildings that would harm views and the historic character of the design-review district.
Several residents asked the commission to retain the current 35-foot maximum height rather than adopt draft language that allows up to 40 feet in some districts. Philip Newberg and other commenters described steep local topography where a 40-foot building could read as three stories and dominate the village skyline, saying the change was visually "unnerving" and could overshadow features such as the town hall cupola and courthouse spire.
"Please don't change the maximum height to 40 feet," one resident said, adding that a 40-foot structure "could be very dense and that's not the character of Woodstock Village." Commissioners and staff said they would confirm whether the change was intentional and would provide comparisons to existing building heights; several speakers requested an analysis showing how existing structures would compare to a 40-foot standard and whether the change was carried forward from an earlier amendment.
Speakers also raised process questions about notice to abutters and pointed staff to the public-notice provisions in section 8 (which staff confirmed remain in the draft). The commission did not take a vote on the height standard at the hearing and will consider public comments in a follow-up working session.
