Recomenddation for New Town

7/28/2019 Recomenddation for New Town

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Town of RichfordComprehensive Plan


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Comprehensive Plan (also known as master plan)

A comprehensive plan consists of the materials, written and/or graphicincluding but not limited to maps, charts, studies, resolutions, reports, and

other descriptive material that identify the goals, objectives, principles,guidelines, policies, standards, devices and instruments for the immediate

and long-range protection, enhancement, growth and development of themunicipality. (New York Chapter 418 of the Laws of 1995 amending Town

Law &272-a.)

The Importance of a Plan

Why prepare a comprehensive plan? First, all towns in New York State are

obliged to have an up-to-date plan as the legal foundation for any land useregulations. Second, and more importantly, a thoughtful plan, based on

public input and a positive perspective for the future, can help set prioritiesfor coordinated action by the Town officials, staff and volunteers. The

following updated comprehensive plan provides guidance to thoseinterested in Richford --- including Town residents, property owners,

businesses, organizations and prospective businesses and/or investors ---about our history, our current conditions, and what we prefer as a future.

Town Profile

Richford is the northernmost town in Tioga County, with a population of1170 in 2000 (U.S. Census data). The town encompasses 24,428.8 acres of

which 4,721.9 is owned by the State of New York (Tioga County RealProperty Office-2002). State land ownership constitutes 19.3% of the land

area. The majority of land (approximately 75%) is in forested land cover,and approximately 15% is devoted to agriculture. The road system includes

47.64 miles of town roads, 3.02 miles of county roads and approximately 15miles of state roads.

The Towns topography is extremely hilly, and most development and

agriculture are in the stream-side valleys. The soils are predominately of the

Volusia and Lordstown series, which have limited ability to sustain intense

development.


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Town Vision

Richford is a small, rural town located at the center of two well-traveled

New York State highways (79 and 38). Richford is rich in history, being thebirthplace of John D. Rockefeller and, at one time, famous for its Clarks

Seed Potato Farm. About one fifth of the land in the Town of Richford isowned by the State of New York, which allows for the natural beauty of its

forested and wild lands to be utilized by the public.

Like many small towns in upstate New York, Richford is intent on balancing

preservation of its rural character with developing economic opportunitiesfor its residents.

The Town vision is to foster smart growth and development that will protectthe natural beauty and rural atmosphere of Richford while increasing

economic expansion. This comprehensive plan promotes development of

businesses, parks, tourism and cultural facilities, and restoration of historicbuildings, and preservation of the natural landscape and environmental

integrity of the Town.

Introduction

This plan was prepared using several resources to obtain information aboutthe needs and concerns of residents. A questionnaire (see copy in Appendix

A ) was mailed to all Town residents in the summer of 2000. Nearly 21% ofresidents replied. (see summary in Appendix B). Additional information

came from observations by the Planning Board members, conversations withresidents and responses made by residents attending an information meeting

conducted by Thoma Consultants for the Tioga County REAP (Rural

Economic Area Partnership) in Richford in the summer of 1999 (seesummary of responses in Appendix C). In addition, two public hearings

were held in spring and fall of 2002, which provided local residents theopportunity to make additional input to the plan.

Residents have expressed a desire to 1) preserve our rural environment; 2)

develop healthy growth to enhance the tax base; and 3) find cooperativeways to work with other municipalities, and the county, in an effort to

provide needed services at a minimal cost.


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Park and Recreation Facilities

The recreation facilities in the town are Rawley Park and the Community

Center, both located in the Hamlet of Richford. Both of these facilities canbe used free of charge for non-profit, community events, and for a fee for

private events. State land is excellent for hunting, fishing, hiking, and otherrelated recreational activities. Anglers have easy access at numerous points

to Owego Creek, and the Finger Lakes Trail traverses the northern part of

the Town. With over 4,700 acres of State land, residents and visitors canfreely hike along developed trails or traverse trail-less areas.

The public survey showed that residents are in favor of enhancing existing

recreational facilities and developing additional park space and nature trails.

Some respondents would like to see a better playground/park and possiblybasketball courts and/or a public swimming pool. In addition, Clarks Seed

Farm, a large piece of privately owned, currently vacant land in the northern

part of the Town, is a prime spot to encourage development of recreationalfacilities.

Recommendations

v Encourage the creation of more recreational opportunities for the Town.

v Enhance Rawley Park through addition of playground equipment and

construction of playing space (i.e. basketball courts).

v Petition the State of NY to develop hiking/cross country skiing trails and

camping facilities on State land in Richford, and to open land foradditional recreational opportunities.

v Encourage the development of Clarks Seed Farm for recreational use.

v Encourage private development of campground facilities.

v Cooperate with the Tioga County Tourism Department in developing

recreational resources including grants.

v Encourage development of a playground and picnic area at the Graded

School.

Cultural Facilities


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The annual Potato Festival is a community-wide cultural event held everySeptember in Richford to celebrate the historic significance of potato

farming in Richford. The Richford Historical Society oversees therenovation and restoration of the Richford Graded School, one of the

original schools in the town. This two-story building adds historic charm tothe town and offers visitors insight into how rural schools were operated in

the 19th and 20th century. Richford shares library services with the Town ofBerkshire through the Berkshire Free Library, a member of the Finger Lakes

Library System.

Recommendations

v Encourage owners of historic buildings to apply for restoration grants.

v Work with Tioga County Council on the Arts to create cultural programs

in Richford.v Locate financial support for the Richford Historical Society.

v Encourage festivals in Richford that include music/performing arts.

v Apply for funding to support the Berkshire Free Library.

v Petition the State of NY to develop the John D. Rockefeller birth site and

land around it for public use.

Youth

The need to increase recreational opportunities for youth has beenrecognized at numerous town forums. Some recreational activities are

offered by local organizations and schools, but transportation, especially forrural youth, is an issue. Most recreational activities are hosted by the

Richford Fire Department Auxiliary, which sponsors activities on most

holidays and Kiddies Day, an annual event targeting local youth. Theauxiliary recruits local teens for ideas and insight into what children of all

ages are interested in. The local health center sponsors a summer youthrecreation program. The town has some facilities that could be or are being

used for planned youth activities: Rawley Park, the Graded School,

churches, fire station, and community hall.

Recommendations


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v Encourage youth-oriented festivals in Richford that include music and/orperforming arts.

v Partner with the state, county and local youth organizations to createmore recreational employment opportunities for the residents of

Richford, especially teens.

v Encourage the Town to select and develop a site for a future youth center.

v Encourage the Auxiliary to continue their outreach to local youth.

v Encourage the local health facility to continue its youth outreach

program.

v Find ways to increase community support, input, and participation in

youth-oriented activities.

Education

The Newark Valley School District serves the majority of students in the

Town, with some Richford students also attending Ithaca, Whitney Point,

Dryden, and Marathon School Districts . For most children this involves a

lengthy bus ride, and distance from the school may limit some of thechildren from participating in extracurricular activities, which makes

development of local recreational activities a high priority (see above).Older students taking occupational/technical studies are provided transport

to Broome-Tioga BOCES, located in Binghamton.

Richford is located near eight universities, colleges and institutions of

continuing education in central New York. Five universities and collegesare within 30 minutes (Cornell University, Ithaca College, Tompkins-

Cortland Community College, Tompkins-Seneca-Tioga BOCES and SUNY-Cortland) and three are within 45 minutes travel time from Richford

(Binghamton University, Broome Community College, and Broome-TiogaBOCES).

Informal educational opportunities are available through several agencies

located in Owego (the County seat), including Cornell CooperativeExtension, Tioga County Chamber of Commerce, and the Department of

Economic Development and Planning.

The Berkshire Free Library provides a variety of services includingcomputer resources, books-on-tape, reference material, and special

collections.


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Recommendations

v Establish a committee to determine how the Berkshire Library can betterserve Richford residents.

v Reactivate Bookmobile service to Richford.v Contact and work with Tioga County Cooperative Extension and other

agencies to determine how their programs may serve local residents.

v Explore if there is sufficient interest for programs for those wanting to

establish a home business or for those already operating a small homebusiness, and if there is, locate funding for and implement such a

program.

v Determine if there is sufficient community interest in an after-school

activities program (computers, sports, homework assistance, etc.) to be

conducted locally, and if there is, locate funding for and implement sucha program.

Communications

With the exception of two free weekly Pennysavers (Town and Country and

Dryden Shopper), no single communication medium covers the entire Town.Delivery in all the mail boxes in the Town resulted in the Town Board

selecting the Town and Country Pennysaver as the official Town newspaper.

The survey indicated that respondents felt that they did not know what isgoing on regarding Town Board business. To address this concern, a Town

newsletter was started in January 2001. This free newsletter is mailed to allTown residents, and provides information on Town Board meetings,

upcoming events, and names and telephone numbers of all Town officials.

Notices of meetings, church dinners and other town activities are posted invarious places in the hamlet, including the post office, health center,

community center, churches, and the local convenience store.

Publicizing Town Board or any community activity involves notifying theBinghamton Press & Sun Bulletin, Ithaca Journal, Owego Pennysaver, Tioga

County Courier as well as the Town and Country Pennysaver. Several radioand four television stations provide service to the community.


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Cellular Communications services are available in portions of the town byseveral providers

Recommendations

v Continue publication of the Richford Quarterly newsletter, to informresidents about local activities, encourage community interest,

cooperation, and activism, and expand volunteerism in the town.

v Encourage development of a Richford website, linked to the County

website and updated periodically.

v Encourage availability of high speed Internet service.

Community Health and Wellness

Health care is available at the Northern Tioga Center for Family Health

through Lourdes Hospital. Lourdes Hospital is planning to create the

Hubbard Resource Center on land donated by Ward Hubbard, adjacent to theexisting Health Center. This will provide additional space for community

services. The residents who responded to the survey would like to have adrug store, and dental and eye care offices located in the community. This

would help the community, as residents would have local access to

prescriptions and other medical necessities. The emergency health care

service (ambulance) needs support in hiring and/or training volunteer EMTsto provide emergency care to the people of the community. The fire station

needs to be renovated and expanded, and fire trucks need to be replaced.

Recommendations

v Encourage development of local health care services for dental and eye

care.

v Attract a drug store to the community.

v Develop a mobile prescription service with other communities and the

county.v Stimulate volunteerism for emergency services

v Develop a transportation system for those who have difficulty getting tothe health services.

v Encourage the community to support the development of the HubbardResource Center.

v Encourage the town to help pay for the training cost of EMTs.


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v Recommend that the Fire District budget include reimbursement toEMTs and fire personnel for work time lost while providing emergency

health care.

v Apply for funding for a new fire station and related equipment.

Housing-Senior Housing, Rental

Housing in Richford consists primarily of single family houses and

manufactured homes, and a few multi-family units within the hamlet.Outside of the hamlet, there are single family homes and manufactured

housing, and one mobile home park. There is no organized senior living

center, nor any organized low/moderate-income housing. As Richford is soclose to several colleges, it has the potential to attract rental units for college

students and others who desire a rural atmosphere.The public survey showed that most respondents felt the condition of

their dwellings was adequate. They were satisfied with property conditions,and felt that property values were staying the same. About 36% of the

survey respondents would like to see the population of Richford increase,but don't want to see more mobile homes or mobile home parks. Over half

of the survey respondents indicated that there was a need to develop seniorhousing.

New York State building codes and Town regulations should be enforcedfor all housing. Housing should be such that residents are proud of their

town and new people would be encouraged to move to Richford.

Recommendations

v Encourage the development of a senior citizen housing development in or

near Richford.

v Encourage the Town Board and other Richford community groups to

obtain grants and assistance from the state and federal sources for seniorand low-income housing.

v Encourage senior citizens to state their housing needs to make sure their

needs are met.

v Encourage residents to maintain and improve their homes.

v Encourage fire protection programs.


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v Work with Federal, State and Local governments on any grants orprograms available to repair and improve existing housing for Richford

residents.

v Encourage the Town Board to offer incentives for such improvements.

v Have an annual town clean-up day.

TRANSPORTATION

Richford hamlet lies at the junction of NY State Routes 38 and 79, givingaccess to Dryden (north), Owego (south), Whitney Point (east) and Ithaca

(west). At Whitney Point, there is access to Interstate 81, and at Owego,

there is access to Interstate 86 (Route 17).

The Town Highway Department is responsible for the repair andmaintenance of 47.64 miles of local road systems. The crew consists of oneelected superintendent and four full-time employees. The Highway

Department is the largest category in the Town budget. There is a goodworking relationship with the Berkshire and Harford local highway

departments, with sharing of equipment and personnel as needed.

Tioga County Public Transit, also called T-Tran, provides local public

transportation along NYS roadways, serving destinations in both Broomeand Tompkins County, including Cornell University, community colleges in

Broome and Steuben Counties, and Robert Packer Hospital in Sayre,Pennsylvania. They have a service called Dial-a-ride which goes to all

homes in the county, provided that the customer makes arrangements theprevious day.

Tioga Transport, Inc. serves the area from Newark Valley to Ithacaincluding Cornell University, through an affiliate with T-Cat, which is

Tompkins Countys transportation service. Routes used are NYS 38 and 79.

Fares are reasonable for those who need regular commuting to employmentor educational centers, but are not practical for casual use. Monthly reducedrates are available.

The Owego-Harford Rail line runs through Richford but only serves

businesses. No public rail transportation is available.


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Recommendations

v Continue renovating two miles of unpaved roads to stone and oil each

year.

v Continue the present working relationship with neighboring towns and

explore new options to make maximum use of resources to save costs.

v Have the Highway Superintendent report on a periodic basis to the TownBoard on any changes needed on the roads.

v Conduct and implement an inventory of condition and maintenance needsof town roads.

v Provide local bus service at reasonable rates to help seniors and young

people access community activities and services.

v Provide transportation to local airports and bus terminals in Ithaca,Binghamton, Owego and Elmira.

v Consideration should be given to expanding the Owego-Harford Rail lineto accommodate tourism and public services.

v Encourage residents and community groups to participate in the Adopt-A-Highway Program.

v Support an east-west connecter road that will enable travel to be easierand more direct from Spencer/Candor to the Towns of Richford,

Berkshire, and Newark Valley.

Land Use

Richford is the northernmost town in Tioga County. It contains a total of

24,428.8 acres, 19.3% of which is owned by the state. Much of the township

is very steep and hilly, or in the flood plain. The two main roads (Routes 79and 38) generally follow along the valleys and streams. Residents of the

town enjoy living in a rural setting with a small town atmosphere. Manylike to hunt, fish, hike or ride horses. New development needs to preserve

the small town image and protect the environmental qualities of the town.Development is not encouraged on steep slopes or in the flood plains. Land

uses include residential, agricultural, commercial, forests, state lands, part ofthe Finger Lakes Trail and a small park.

Recommendations

v Preserve agricultural land.

v Preserve surface and subsurface water quality by maintaining wetlands

and streams and minimizing erosion into these areas.


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v Develop and improve existing public areas (parks).

v Preserve historic areas.

v Maintain and manage forests for recreational purposes, watershedcapabilities and encourage management of woodlots for timber, wood

products and wildlife.

v Develop a site plan review for industrial and commercial development

projects.

v Develop a Subdivision Ordinance.

v Update Local Laws and Town Codes.

v Encourage new development in areas near existing utilities and services,

following smart growth principles.

Economic Development

Survey results indicate that Town of Richford residents value their ruralenvironment, and the natural beauty of what used to be an agricultural

township. They appreciate the comparative freedom and peacefulness of

their current environment.

However, they would like to expand the tax base. Survey respondentsindicated an interest in economic development including small business

development, senior housing, water and sewer services, enhancement of

public transportation, and the development of tourism, especially on NY

State land.

Recommendations

v Collaborate and/or consolidate services with Tioga County andneighboring towns to facilitate the expansion of tourism, small

businesses, loans, grants and development, so as to maximize the localtax base.

v Work cooperatively with the Tioga County Department of EconomicDevelopment and Planning, Industrial Development Agency (IDA), and

the Local Development Corporation (LDC) on planning, businessdevelopment, and retention needs.

v Attract suitable small business services and home based enterprises.

v Encourage enforcement of codes and land use ordinances.

v Maintain the agricultural base and encourage farm-based businesses.

v Work cooperatively with the Tioga County Cornell Cooperative

Extension Office on agricultural business development.


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v Utilize the local rail line more extensively for tourism and freight.

v Develop a volunteer committee to plan community projects.

v Develop a feasibility study for the possible creation of a publicsewer/water system.

v Encourage high speed Internet access.

Agriculture

The nature of agriculture in Richford has changed over the years. Small

farms which could be farmed by horse drawn machinery are rarely profitabletoday. To be economically viable todays farming must fill a special niche

market or be done on a large scale.

Richford, with its narrow valleys, open land on hillsides, heavily forested

hills, state owned land, and other land unsuited for agricultural purposes(brush land, wetlands) is limited in the amount of land available for

agricultural pursuits.

Currently, there are dairy farms, a certified organic farm, and several part

time operations where local residents are raising beef, sheep, hay and horses.Land in the North Tioga Agricultural District as of 2002 was 2,592 acres.

Flooding from Owego Creek and its tributaries is a problem for some

agricultural areas and in the hamlet of Richford. There is considerable

logging because of the amount of forested land in the Town of Richford.

Recommendations:

v Encourage the preservation of agricultural land.

v Develop a program to control the flooding of farm and other land by

Owego Creek. This program could be similar to the one being developedto control the Catatonk Creek in the Spencer/Candor area.

v Encourage local land owners to apply for agricultural district status asappropriate.

v Encourage the local school system to inform youth of the manyoccupational opportunities available in agriculture.


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Summary

The town of Richford is a rural community rich in natural features, withforested hillsides and open stream valleys. The town would liketo expandthe tax base using smart growth principles while protecting the natural andhistorical features that give the town its character. This can be accomplished

by attracting small and mid-sized businesses, maintaining existingbusinesses and farms, attracting new residents, and providing incentives to

current residents to improve the quality of life in Richford.

Recomenddation for New Town

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