Otsego Town Officials Send Comprehensive Plan Back to Committee for Another Look

By DEBRA MOFFITT
FLY CREEK

The Town of Otsego will take a second look at proposed changes to its comprehensive plan after the blueprint for land-use laws drew complaints from residents and a Manhattan developer who owns hundreds of acres.

“I’m just saying let’s go back to the table on this,” Town Council member Pat Kennedy said at a June 24 working session. Council members agreed to pull the draft comprehensive plan from the town’s Planning Board and return it to the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee.

Some town officials have stressed that the comprehensive plan represents a broad vision, but critics point to its specific recommendations. At a town council meeting this month, residents who operate short-term rentals voiced concerns about a proposal to adopt restrictions like those in the Village of Cooperstown, which require owner-occupancy of the rental units.

Property owners who rent properties in Otsego County depend on that income, several residents said. Taking that away could price some residents out of town and force others to sell beloved family properties that are maintained with the proceeds from summer rentals.

Otsego Planning Board member Alexander Nirenberg and Ellen Pope, executive director of Otsego 2000, argued in the other direction, saying that a balanced approach would make more homes available to full-time residents and protect the environment.

“A dynamic community needs full-time families,” Nirenberg said.

An attorney representing Fraydun Manocherian took aim at the proposed comprehensive plan changes from a different angle, saying one of the changes could limit the developer’s ability to build 126 homes—50 of which are planned for the Town of Otsego. In a letter, lawyer Allyson Phillips said the town failed to follow procedures for public notice and open meetings regarding a significant change to subdivision rules for large parcels.

The change would limit how parcels of 40 acres or more are subdivided into smaller lots, restricting them to no more than three lots (about 13 acres) while the current rules allow lots as small as three acres. Phillips estimated the change would impact more than just her client, affecting 259 parcels totaling nearly 25,000 acres.

Before reconsidering the comprehensive plan changes, Town of Otsego officials had extended the public hearing period on the matter. At meetings this month, council members will review the public comments and discuss next steps in the process, Kennedy said.

In addition to the comprehensive plan, the town is preparing to review plans for the proposed Manocherian development, which spans both the Town of Otsego and the Town of Springfield and is expected to impact area roads and the lakeside environment. The town needs to adopt an ordinance that will set up a framework for charging Manocherian for the expert legal and engineering advice it will need to assess the complex plan, Kennedy said.

With such weighty topics coming down the pike, the town needs to fill some open roles. Town Supervisor Ted Feury recently resigned. He did not say why, Kennedy said. The council accepted his resignation at its June working session and thanked him for his service. Kennedy will keep her current position and serve as deputy supervisor. Otsego also recently lost its zoning enforcement officer and is lacking a clerk for the planning board.