More than two decades after Shandaken adopted its first comprehensive plan, the town is considering recommendations that could shape how the community approaches housing, tourism, flooding, emergency services and local history.
The town will hold a series of public forums May 30 on draft recommendations prepared after public input facilitated by Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress. The recommendations move beyond the broad vision laid out in Shandaken’s 2005 comprehensive plan, which focused on preserving hamlet character, family businesses, scenic corridors and the town’s tourism economy.
The new draft is more specific. It recommends allowing accessory dwelling units as of right, permitting small cottage courts, encouraging denser development in hamlet centers, updating short-term rental regulations, relocating town services out of the flood plain and studying the demand placed on emergency medical services, including by Belleayre Ski Center.
It also recommends that the town consider renaming the hamlet of Big Indian as Winnisook and consult tribal leaders on how Shandaken presents “public-facing messaging.”
Taken together, the recommendations ask a broader question than whether one hamlet should be renamed: How should a mountain town shaped by tourism, steep terrain, state land, flood risk and a limited housing supply manage growth while preserving the character that has long defined it?
The 2005 plan, approved by the Town Board on July 11, 2005, envisioned Shandaken as a place of “bustling hamlets, interesting shops, successful restaurants and attractive overnight accommodations” surrounded by open space and natural beauty. But even then, the plan noted a growing gap between housing costs and local wages and reported that 45% of the town’s housing units were owned by part-time residents.
The draft responds with a more aggressive housing agenda. It calls for allowing accessory dwelling units on lots with existing homes regardless of minimum lot size, permitting cottage courts of three to four units in single-family zones, allowing single-family homes to be converted into two- to four-family structures by right and considering affordable set-asides.
It also says any increase in density should be paired with enforceable short-term rental regulations so new housing is used for long-term occupancy rather than transient lodging.
Tourism, long central to Shandaken’s economy, is also reframed. The draft recommends that Shandaken adopt “recreational nature tourism” as an economic focus, using outdoor recreation and the town’s forests, rivers and mountain setting as a guide for future policy. It also recommends stricter environmental standards for new lodging and tourism facilities and a visitor transportation plan to address seasonal demand.
Flooding and infrastructure receive more urgent treatment. The 2005 plan called for identifying flood-prone areas and ways to limit damage. The new draft recommends relocating Town Hall and associated town services out of the flood plain, restarting discussions about a wastewater treatment plant in Phoenicia and developing a long-term flood reduction strategy for the hamlet.
Emergency services are another major focus. The draft recommends studying EMS capacity and demand, improving emergency radio and cellular coverage, coordinating fire and EMS operations and incentivizing housing developments that include units for emergency service workers and volunteers.
The most visible recommendation may be the one involving Big Indian.
The draft says the town should “consider renaming Big Indian hamlet to Winnisook” and “engage with tribal leaders locally and nationally who have ties to the area in creating public-facing messaging.” The recommendation appears in a broader section on community, arts, parks and culture, which also calls for public history projects and recognition of Indigenous, railroad, labor and Underground Railroad history.
Asked what public-facing messaging meant, Shandaken Supervisor Babs Mansfield said, “Public facing-messaging is, how are we going about as a town, talking about native peoples in our town?”
Mansfield said “Big Indian” was the nickname of Winnisook, a Native American who lived in the area centuries ago.
The document remains a draft. It would not, by itself, change zoning, rename a hamlet or create new housing. If adopted, it could guide future local laws and land-use decisions for years.
John W. Barry is a reporter for The Overlook. Reach him at john@theoverlooknews.com.
