Wappinger, NY – Promises made, promises kept. Town Supervisor Joseph D. Cavaccini, Senior Councilman William H. Beale, Councilwoman Angela Bettina, Councilman Christopher Phillips, and Councilman Al Casella took the first steps to protect the quality of life of those who live in Wappinger by adopting a moratorium on the construction of large-scale multi-family housing developments in the Town of Wappinger. Following a public hearing and noticing, Local Law 1 of 2024 was unanimously passed during the March 11, 2024, Regular Meeting of the Town Board.
The legislative intent behind Local Law 1 is to allow the Town Board the time to assess current legislation, potential projects, and to solidify the future of our community.
This action does not limit or stop all projects and applications from proceeding within the Town as it is limited to proposed large scale housing development.
Understanding the numbers
- At 28 square miles, the Town of Wappinger is the smallest geographical town in Dutchess County
- Wappinger is the 2nd most densely populated town in Dutchess County.
- Our current housing ratio is 60% single family and 40% multi family.
- A town immediately boarding our community only has 10% multi family.
Town Supervisor Joseph D. Cavaccini stated, “It is our responsibility to look out for our neighbors and ensure that the future of our beautiful Town of Wappinger is secure. In adopting Local Law 1, we are looking to identify areas to preserve, limit further congestion and overcrowding, as well as foster new development in places that are innovative and that make the most sense for our community. This pause is crucial to ensuring that we do not contribute to traffic, crowd our schools, and overburden our police, ambulance, or volunteer fire companies.”
Third Ward Councilman Christopher Phillips said, ” This is a good opportunity for the Town to strategically revisit our 2010 Comprehensive Plan as well as our Town Code, which is long overdue.”
Fourth Ward Councilman Al Casella went on to say, “The adoption of Local Law 1 was needed for the town to re-assess our comprehensive plan and where we want to be as a Town. This is a pause that will allow us time to do our due diligence in re-evaluating our water and sewer capability. In addition, this will also require research, studies, public hearings, and updates to our town codes to potentially help us create a new comprehensive plan. This is something the town has needed for some time now and that’s why I support this initiative.”
