Sugar Loaf wants to set area's cultural tone with master plan

Sugar Loaf —The students’ plan was great — but not enough to get the arts-and-crafts hamlet of Sugar Loaf the grants it needs for its revitalization project. “There has been some misunderstanding as to why Sugar Loaf needs a new master plan when so much time and energy was spent on the SUNY New Paltz project, in which graduate students developed a plan for future Sugar Loaf development,” said Dorian Dehaan-Rossi, a member of the Sugar Loaf Vision Committee and chairwoman of the hamlet’s Central Business District Committee. But, she said, the students’ plan does not qualify as “professional” in the sense required to obtain grants. What Sugar Loaf needs now is the Chester Town Board’s “go-ahead” — a simple statement that the town agrees with the concept of the plan. The town did just that at its meeting Wednesday night. The master plan will set the cultural tone for the area, she said. “It will encourage tourism, art, hiking and recreation,” she said. “It is important also in the sense that it can set a precedent of how good planning should be done.” The Vision Committee wants to improve the hamlet’s infrastructure while maintaining its eclectic character, so different from other parts of town. The town has already approved the committee’s recommendation to pave the main road through Sugar Loaf. The committee’s other goals are to widen the road in several sections; open one or two parking areas to ease the traffic congestion that detracts from the appearance of the stores and homes; provide sidewalks and streetscapes to make the hamlet more interesting and to enhance safety and accessibility; study the option of burying utility lines; and integrate local trails with regional trail systems, especially the Appalachian Trail. “When children in the area were asked for a wish list, the first thing on the list was to be able to ride their bikes to the library,” Dehaan-Rossi said. The Vision Committee has already met with Ed Diana, the county executive; David Church, the county planner; Chuck Lee, deputy commissioner of the county’s Division of Engineering; Noel Spencer, county legislator in District 8; and Cindy Smith and Alex Jamieson, members of the Chester Town Board. They said they are 100 percent behind the project, and that it will open the door for numerous grants. They cannot, however, approve it on the basis of student work and need the town’s “acceptance of the concept” and a set of professional drawings. The town board is expected to discuss the matter at its next meeting, on Tuesday, Feb. 7. Also that night, the committee will ask for an architectural review board to help the review process along. In the meantime, the Vision Committee’s grant committee has obtained many new resources, including an $85,000 donation from U.S. Rep. Sue Kelly. Meanwhile the community interviewed a series of professional planners and finally chose IQ Landscape Architects (John Imbiano) and AKRF Engineering out of Goshen (Graham Traelsted). Graham has coached the Goshen Planning Board on several projects requiring expertise in hamlet and traditional neighborhood design. Dehaan-Rossi is also an alternate on the town’s zoning board of appeals. An interior designer by profession, she also has a background in architecture and so is familiar with hamlet design and planning concepts. She said the project started because local residents wanted to improve handicapped accessibility and safety in the hamlet. But as the committee members progressed in their work, they realized the hamlet had other pressing needs. “When talking with the Sugar Loaf artists and shop owners, one can clearly see their commitment to the hamlet and their sense of community,” she said.