Rhinebeck report seen as land use tool that addresses climate change

RHINEBECK, N.Y. – Town Board members have approved a report meant to be used as a land planning tool and which also makes several recommendations to address climate change.

Following a video conference meeting Monday, Supervisor Elizabeth Spinzia said that the 176-page natural resources inventory report can be used to evaluate how projects would be at risk from rising sea levels and flooding.

“It’s a tool,” she said. “People did a lot of looking and photographing and measuring. It’s there as a resource.”

The report was written by Climate Smart Rhinebeck, Rhinebeck Conservation Advisory Board, Dutchess Land Conservancy, Cornell University, state Department of Environmental Conservation Hudson River Estuary Program, and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Dutchess County.

Recommendations in the document include updating zoning district uses to prevent development from impacting wildlife habitats that are the basis for the town’s rural character.

“To protect important natural habitats development should be clustered in the village, hamlets, and commercial gateway zones where the town enters the village,” officials wrote. “The village should continue to promote mixed-use and pedestrian-scale development…that can reduce the per capita carbon footprint of the community.”

The report also suggests finding ways to encourage a return of agricultural activities in the town.

“As pointed out in Bently Scholldorf’s interview for ‘The Dairyman,’ in the 1960s Rhinebeck was home to over 30 dairy farms, and now Bently’s 96-acre farm is the last remaining,” officials wrote. “Bently and the town have an agreement where he farms part of the Thompson-Mazzarella town park.”

The report noted that smaller farms have continued to operate but could use assistance.

“The town could consider how to further support small scale micro-farms under seven acres,” officials wrote. “Rhinebeck should engage its farmers in supporting sustainable agricultural practices such as no-till, cover crops, and rotation with grazing animals who fertilize the soil. Such practices, rooted in indigenous knowledge of long-term stewardship, build the soil rather than desiccating it.”

The report also suggests having Thompson-Mazzarella Park used to plant “food forest” consisting of fruits, vegetables, and pollinator-friendly gardens.

“The decline in pollinators due to pesticides, invasive species, and climate changes pose an enormous threat to the food systems,” they wrote. “These sorts of community-oriented projects provide education and engagement with youth and citizens of all ages (by) raising the awareness of health, nutrient-rich food, and the economic and climate-related importance of local food systems.”