NARROWSBURG, NY — Earlier this month, Upper Delaware Council (UDC) officials tasked staff planners to once again review the Town of Highland’s zoning ordinance and to include language modifications that would bring the document into agreement with the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River land-and-water-use guidelines.

That agreement has been a long time coming. This is the third time the town has been asked to review its ordinance. Al Henry of Berlin Township already voiced his frustration on the failure to settle on a resolution earlier this month, saying, “We’ve been two years on this and looking stupid. I’m getting pissed. Let’s get going.”

Henry’s comments seemed to mark an upcoming end to the debate. National Park Service (NPS) Land Use Planner Jennifer Claster and UDC Resource Specialist Peter Golod will work on the wording, determining specifically where the town went wrong in the ordinance. Golod’s earlier reviews found roughly two-thirds of the required points out of compliance.

In June, Golod and Highland delegate Andrew Boyar took on a similar challenge. Golod reported in July that “there are many issues that can be easily mitigated.” Some issues, including erosion and sedimentation, won’t be as easy to solve, he said. Golod complained that Highland officials have ignored all UDC queries. “Somebody has to talk to us,” he said.

Boyar provided a two-page report. He found “that the Town has made a good faith effort to pursue zoning consistent with NYS Law, historical… and current… uses, all in furtherance of the goals of the River Management Plan.

“I have attempted to identify and locate those specific changes which would cause the town’s zoning to go from substantial conformance to non-compliance… I wonder if the standards have changed. Highland’s effort was to improve its zoning, tighten it, not loosen it… I cannot fault the town’s objectives in this update.”
Boyar wrote that, after three years work, town leaders are “satisfied with the final product and have other projects to address….”

Boyar said on July 22 that he was anxious to see what Claster and Golod come up with in August.
Golod said that as it stands, NPS will not find the ordinance in compliance. The negative finding would mark the first time that a town, having achieved compliance, had gone on to lose it. The apparent penalty for the loss of compliance would involve additional review of river corridor land-use decisions by UDC and NPS. Highland has been in compliance since 1990.

Town of Fremont delegate Jim Greier warned that over-regulation could endanger the cooperative Upper Delaware management scheme. UDC may soon find other members unhappy with restrictive zoning. “If [UDC is] going to survive, we’ll need to be flexible. You’ve got issues coming up first here, but there are other towns, mine and neighboring towns, that feel we’ve already gone too far.”

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Highland-UDC zoning clash looms