How will Monroe grow?

MONROE-Granted, it won't compete with the latest Harry Potter book due out later this month. But the Town of Monroe's comprehensive update of its master plan makes for important reading if you've noticed the additional traffic even on the back roads, the new homes and businesses where once there were empty fields, or simply have a sense that civic life is changing at a faster and faster pace. The master plan was last revised in 1998. "During this relatively short period of time, many changes both in the pace of development and the growing awareness of the accumulated impacts of development have taken place," the authors of the update write in their introduction. "This 2005 plan observes that the people who chose to live in the town of Monroe in 2005 value the town for the way it looks now," they add later in the plan. The comprehensive master plan is now under review by town officials. It offers a vision of what could be as the town continues to grow. Throughout it's 117 pages, issues such as traffic and housing, water and sewage, parks and open space, as well as commercial enterprises and commuter services, are addressed. The planners even get down to the nitty gritty of such things as cul-de-sacs and sidewalks, the increase in deer and bears, and the impact that invasive, non-native trees and shrubs have on the land. History repeats itself The authors - town officials as well as residents - also provide context through a textured account of the town that was first organized in 1799 under the name of Cheesecocks, after the land patent on which it was located. What brought people to Monroe? More times than not, it was commerce, such as the discovery of iron ore at Sterling Forest, which lead to the forging of the links for the Revolutionary War chain across the Hudson River. Each venture had an affect on the land, the authors note, just as the topography of the land itself affected those ventures. And as is true so many times, history repeats itself. The land was favorable for agriculture, particularly for dairy farming. But as agricultural uses declined, "and the dairy farms were forsaken, summer development took place" around the town's 77 lakes and ponds "Later, as people began to winterize the small cottages and bungalows, the town began to experience the effect of continual use of what was meant to be small seasonal developments - these effects included inadequate roads and access and an inability to handle sewerage properly," the report says. The authors also acknowledge more recent history: "Affordable housing is becoming an increasing concern within the region. Both the market-driven effects of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City and the combination of high prices and low supply in New York City's inner suburbs make southeastern Orange County area more attractive to high-end newcomers purchasing relatively large, expensive houses compared to the housing that the ‘home-grown' market would otherwise sustain. The effect on the housing market has increased concerns about the need to accommodate affordable and diverse housing for the local population and community service providers as well as senior citizens." More people The 2000 Census listed the town's population at 31,407; current estimates indicate it's now 37,319, or an increase of nearly 6,000 people. Most of that growth has occurred in the Village of Kiryas Joel, where the population today is estimated at 17,651 (the village was incorporated in 1977). Still, if you exclude town residents who live in the villages of Kiryas Joel, Monroe and the portion of Harriman located in the town, Monroe's population has increased by more than 1,000 people since the 2000 Census to 9,856. This article is not meant to be exhaustive. In the coming weeks, however, The Photo News will take a closer look at individual elements of the town's 2005 comprehensive update of its master plan. Copies of it are available at Town Hall or online at the town's Web site (www.monroeny.org). Meanwhile, the next time you are stuck in traffic, consider this observation from Ruttenberg and Clark's 1881 History of Orange County: "Quite a portion of the town is too mountainous and rocky to be available to industrial pursuits of any kind." The authors note: "Even in the year 2005, steep grades, hard rock formations, visual resources, wetlands and environmental features influence the transportation network as they continue to affect the ability to make certain road connections." Some things do not change. Some facts: • There is more woodland in the town at the turn of the 21st century than there was at the turn of the 20th century, when mining, lumbering and charcoal manufacturing and farming were the commerce of the day. • The vast majority of more than 2,700 homes in the town outside the villages rely on individual private wells for potable water. • The highest point in the town is traversed by the Appalachian Trail at 1,265 feet above sea level, west of Mombasha Lake and looking north.