You can support efforts to prevent further FIMFO development by emailing the Town of Highland Supervisor John Pizzolato and Town Clerk Susan Hoffman, to express support for the Delaware Riverkeeper Petition, urging a moratorium on development, and by attending the upcoming Town meeting on Tuesday, April 7.

Dear Mr. Pizzolato and Ms. Hoffman,

As a person who has enjoyed the beautiful Upper Delaware River for decades, got married on the banks of the River, and bought land on the River, I am a member of the Upper Delaware River community. I write in whole-hearted support of the Delaware Riverkeeper’s Petition (see link in this email below) filed with the Town of Highland for a moratorium on all development projects until the Town completes its update of its ten-year Comprehensive Plan that’s currently underway.

A moratorium is a valid land use tool available to the Town of Highland and the Town Board Supervisor. According to Land Use Moratoria (rev. 2024), https://dos.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2024/09/land-use-moratoria.pdf,

“A land use moratorium is a local enactment which temporarily suspends a landowner’s right to obtain development approvals while the community considers and potentially adopts changes to its comprehensive plan and/or its land use regulations to address new circumstances not addressed by its current laws.

A moratorium on development therefore preserves the status quo while the municipality updates its comprehensive plan. A moratorium is designed to halt development temporarily, pending the completion and possible adoption of more permanent, comprehensive regulations.”

Thank you for all of your valuable work on behalf of the Town of Highland and the Upper Delaware River community.

Respectfully yours,
Jacqueline Sailer

*Delaware Riverkeeper Petition: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xkcRPoDsdOvMTnXlPvMU3zBp4KHPbrkn/view

There’s one more thing we can do to support efforts to prevent further FIMFO development, while the EIS process is pending. This comes from the Delaware Riverkeeper and is time sensitive.

The Delaware Riverkeeper has filed a Petition with the Town of Highland for a moratorium on all development projects until the Town completes its update of its ten-year Comprehensive Plan that’s currently underway, which has not been updated since 2012. A moratorium is a valid land use tool available to the Town of Highland (see below).

The DRK is asking us to express support for its Petition by emailing the Town Supervisor John Pizzolato and Town Clerk Susan Hoffman, and by attending the upcoming Town of Highland meeting on Tuesday April 7.

Mr. John Pizzolato
Town Board Supervisor
townsupervisor@townofhighlandny.com

Ms. Susan Hoffman
Town Clerk
townclerk@townofhighlandny.com

Petition: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xkcRPoDsdOvMTnXlPvMU3zBp4KHPbrkn/view

According to the Riverkeeper’s Petition (link is above):

“1. …A moratorium instituted immediately will allow the Town time to update and establish a revised Comprehensive Plan without risking a rush of development applications, approvals and/or construction, particularly if such development may be inconsistent with the goals and objectives of the revised Plan, and thus non-compliant with new or amended ordinance language.”

And:

“2. As recognized by Town Supervisor John Pizzolato regarding the ongoing Comprehensive Plan review process: ‘[the Town has] had a lot of big projects come our way, and we’ve had a lot of changes in our community . . . This is the public’s opportunity to inform how we change, how we grow, how we evolve, what we want to stay in, what we don’t want to stay in, or what we don’t want to evolve into. But it really is for the taxpayers for the public and for the residents to inform what the next 10 years of our town our codes and our rules look like.'”

According to Land Use Moratoria (rev. 2024), https://dos.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2024/09/land-use-moratoria.pdf,

“A land use moratorium is a local enactment which temporarily suspends a landowner’s right to obtain development approvals while the community considers and potentially adopts changes to its comprehensive plan and/or its land use regulations to address new circumstances not addressed by its current laws.

A moratorium on development therefore preserves the status quo while the municipality updates its comprehensive plan. A moratorium is designed to halt development temporarily, pending the completion and possible adoption of more permanent, comprehensive regulations.”

Please spread the word. Thanks.
Jacqueline