Updates on proposed zoning changes at Village Board meeting

Planner for the Village of Goshen Kristin O’Donnell, with Lanc & Tully Engineering & Surveying, addressed the Village Board at the Jan. 23, 2023 meeting.

O’Donnell brought an update on the proposed changes to the Office Building/Hospital district, called OBH. This zone starts at the BOCES location and goes from South Street down to the Village boundary, along Harriman Drive.

“Recently I received a request to make some zoning changes there,” O’Donnell said. “The Village is proposing to add several uses permitted by right, which are generally medical related, along with making the professional technical/vocational training school, BOCES, legal.”

The vision is that by updating the OBH zoning, other medical offices — permitted by right – will be encouraged to build there “where they belong,” O’Donnell added.

Conditional uses within this zone are hotels, gas stations, and restaurants without drive-thru. Hotels are subject to other additional use regulations.

Hotel regulations were enacted when the Fairfield Inn on Hatfield Lane was built. They were very restrictive, not allowing a restaurant or accessory uses. Updated regulations will allow expansion of uses.

O’Donnell explained that this proposal is a Type 1 action, which requires referrals and a public hearing. She has prepared an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) ready for referral to Orange County Planning Board, as well as the Goshen Village Planning Board. When comments from these boards are received, the board will set a public hearing date.

In other Village news:

· By unanimous vote, Trish Sherlock has been appointed to the position of Building Department Clerk. This is a full-time position to replace Ruth Anne Boss who recently retired. Sherlock will continue as a part-time employee on the Goshen Joint Recreation Commission and fill her new position on Feb. 1, 2023.

· A resolution passed to purchase a small dump truck with plow and spreader from Robert Green Truck Division, Monticello, N.Y. The cost: $95,754.

· Village Mayor Scott Wohl was granted permission to sign documents for the Community Assistance Program, called LoCAP. “This allows us to move forward with the $100,000 downtown improvement grant that State Sen. Skoufis secured for the village earlier in 2022. This gets us on the road to spending the money,” Wohl said.