BETTER THAN HEARSAY

What Windham Is

By Michael Ryan

WINDHAM - A new four-letter word has possibly emerged in Windham surrounding the ongoing process of writing a Zoning Law.

That word is “moratorium,” especially as it relates to future commercial development and whether a building freeze should be put in place.

If that happened, no new applications could be submitted for at least six months although existing applications could move forward, as usual.

There is currently no movement in that direction from the town council, which would be charged with enacting the stoppage.

The subject was raised during a public information meeting, last Thursday night, detailing the ongoing efforts of a special Zoning Commission established by the town, last spring (please see related story).

In the past, the mere mention of zoning was paramount to uttering a profanity, although that has clearly changed.

There were no objections voiced regarding the writing of a new law during the information session, a far cry from 20 years ago.

The subject of zoning was whispered by the town council back then but old-school and deeply-entrenched business owners basically shouted it down before it could even reach the discussion stage.

Between back then and now, a lot is different and the rural character that makes Windham an appealing tourist destination is threatened.

There are two elements about the countryside that are not manmade and that once lost, cannot be replicated….uncluttered vista and quiet.

A drive going east to west along South Street reveals a taste of what urban sprawl looks and feels like. It seems to spread slowly but then is suddenly irreversible and becomes what Windham is.

There are some condominiums that have been proceeding piecemeal for a year or more and a second, even more significant development has been proposed by the newly named Windham Mountain Club.

Many fears have surfaced surrounding the ski slope project and what impacts its apparent move toward privatization will have on the local economy, fears that administrators insist are unfounded.

Preliminary sketches have been presented to the local planning board, initiating a lengthy and complex approval process.

Meanwhile, large properties are for sale along still-rural Mitchell Hollow Road and elsewhere, advertising they are prime for development.

A public hearing was recently held after a local wedding venue on rural County Route 10 requested a temporary variance to the Noise Law.

Town board members granted the one-day variance but will very possibly be tweaking the existing legislation after hearing from several nearby residents that their lives are irritatingly disrupted by the business.

“Forget keeping your windows open in the summer. You can’t sleep,” one resident said, emphasizing the noise is invasive deep into the night.

Maps have been drawn by the Zoning Commission dividing the town into four districts including Rural Residential, a low-density area such as the outlying Big Hollow region, beyond the hamlet of Maplecrest.

One unanswered question emerged at the information meeting. The zoning map surrenders South Street to commercial development, but can the same principle apply to preserving uncluttered vista and quiet?

“Zoning seems to be a very important component to our community,” said local resident and downtown business owner Drew Shuster during the public comment period of the meeting.

“Is there any reason we should go forward at this point with these projects [such as the Windham Mountain Club]? They seem to totally defeat the purpose of zoning,” Shuster said.

“One way to do it is with a moratorium. In the absence of a moratorium, things keep chugging along as they have been,” Shuster said.

Helen Budrock, the outside consultant hired by the town and the Emcee for the meeting, explained that any projects currently in the pipeline would not be impacted by a moratorium.

That was good news for another gentleman, a developer who owns several properties, saying, “the last thing I want to see is a moratorium. Is there a real opportunity for a moratorium?”

It is apparently not on the horizon and what Windham is becoming will never be what it once was and what it will irreversibly be.