For one last hour and 26 minutes, the Highland Falls Village Board gave the public the chance to make any comments they wanted on the board’s proposed changes to business district zoning. And comment they did.

In the end, the board did adopt its newest local law which amended the Zoning Law. The most-discussed item – minimum lot area per dwelling unit – was settled, with the motion (by Trustee Peter Carroll) reducing the current 2500 square foot requirement to 750 feet. The amendments also changed building heights allowed from 50-65 feet in the B-1 District and 60-75 feet in the B-2 District to 48 feet. Parking requirements for development, mixed use development, and the return of an extended district on south Main St. to residential.

The complete law, as adopted and previous versions of it, is available to view at highlandfallsny.org.

In contrast to several previous meetings, the public comment at the session was in favor of moving forward with the changes.

Town of Highlands Consolidated Planning Board Chairman Erik Smith told the board that the village “needs growth – smart growth”. He said that his board had made recommendations on the proposed amendments to the Zoning Law over the past year or so as the board has considered the changes, and several members of the board have commented individually. The same goes for members of the Consolidated Zoning Board of Appeals; Chairman Jack Jannarone spoke again at this week’s meeting, reminding those in the room that changing the zoning does not automatically approve any projects. “I have every confidence in the Building Department and Planning Board,” he said, but also adding that adding too many apartments to the village will increase costs to taxpayers.

Holly West, who is preparing to open a new restaurant on Main St. (Westies) this year, urged the board to move on the matter so that development can begin.

“I often hear from (West Point) alumni and cadet parents that they’d love to stay in Highland Falls, but it lacks hotels and restaurants that they can find elsewhere. It is getting harder and harder to defend my hometown,” she said. She went on to refer to other communities which appear to be outpacing Highland Falls when it comes to revitalization.

Highland Falls’ Ed Dunn also urged the board to move – “you’ve been working on zoning since 2019,” he said, “I believe the plan put forth is a good one.”
Fort Montgomery’s Chris Hardee, president of the town’s Little League program, said he supported the proposed zoning changes, noting “right now Main St. is not reaching its full potential”.

“We can’t afford to let Main St. stay stagnant,” he said. “More local jobs, more foot traffic … let’s give our community the chance it deserves to succeed.”

Highland Falls’ Jim Titolo offered a little bit of ‘tough love’: “This exercise has been going on for 24 months. You need to put this thing to bed – make the tough decisions”.

He added: “The only way to reduce taxes for those of us who live here is to bring in developers. Let’s make what we have very attractive to developers.”
Mayor Joe D’Onofrio said he did not disagree with the public comment.

“Main St. looks terrible,” he said, “we’re going to fix it.” He added, speaking of the village’s $4.5 million NY Forward grant and the fact that West Point’s Association of Graduates is anxious to move forward in developing parcels of property it has purchased, “if we don’t move now, we’re going to lose momentum. Without action tonight progress will stop.”

The final public comment was from Highland Falls’ Lilla Faint, urging the board to take proactive steps.

“Our hearts hurt for the fact that Main St. is dying; I see a lot of really great potential,” she said, speaking for herself and her husband who recently settled in the village after retiring from the Army. “We urge you as a board to move forward. Please stop the analysis paralysis and make a decision. Trust your experts. And if you got something wrong, you can always come back and fix it.”

When it came time to vote, only Trustee Jim Ramus said he “must vote no”. He said he is “98 percent okay with the law” but sees some concerns including potential for flooding and a plan, he said, the state has to require electric car charging/parking requirements.