Residential Use

The Residential Use (R) Category depicts a suburban density residential development pattern in proximity to the Village of Red Hook, established community and business services, and existing smaller-lot residential land uses.

Opportunities should be encouraged within the Residential area for development of a variety of housing types, including single-family detached and attached dwellings, two-family dwellings, accessory dwelling units, and multi-family construction. Preferred density is one dwelling unit per 0.5 to 1.5 acres, with the smaller minimum lot area dependent upon the availability of municipal or other municipally-approved central water and/or sanitary sewage facilities. Such water and sanitary sewage facilities are provided to residential growth areas to the south of the Village of Red Hook, the permissible density for multi-family residential use at this location should be established on the more flexible basis of the maximum number of bedrooms per acre instead of dwelling units per acre. Where individual on-site water supply and sewage disposal facilities are employed, a minimum lot area of 1.5 acres is recommended.

Cluster development should be encouraged when appropriate to conserve environmentally-sensitive areas, e.g. stream corridors or scenic gateways to the Village of Red Hook, and where significant open space may be preserved. Furthermore, careful consideration should be given to the reservation and development of suitable park lands and other accessible open spaces within this Residential Use area to meet the recreational needs of an expanded Town population.

Should the Town legislate a program for the "transfer of development rights," certain lands within this Residential Use area would, consistent with stated Town land use and infrastructure policy, be designated as "receiving zones." Access and other improvements within these residential growth areas would also be carried out through cooperative efforts of private project sponsors and affected public jurisdictions. In the particular case of the Residential (R) classification of lands lying between Forest Park and Rokeby Road, for example, it is anticipated that a firm private sponsor commitment to the construction of a through Town roadway would be a prerequisite to permitting higher density residential development at this location.

The Master Plan Committee anticipates that the lands depicted within the Residential Use category will fall within several different residential zoning classifications following update of the Town's Zoning Law. These zoning districts should be created and delineated on the zoning district map following close examination of the existing development pattern in sectors where substantial land has already been committed to residential use, the physical features of the land, the suitability of access, and the method of water supply and sanitary sewage disposal that will support development at the location, i.e. central water and/or sanitary sewage facilities or individual on-site wells and sewage disposal systems.