Massage Spas & Short-Term Rentals

With 3 council members and the supervisor present, the March 24 Town Board meeting veered off in rabbit holes filled with suppositions and allegations that maybe very real perceptions, but without specific facts, details and context created an opportunity for salacious grandstanding and time filling.

A public hearing opened the meeting, with the public not having anything to say about Local Law 1 -- which deals with records retention, and is basically a pre-req for a grant request to help with records management (see a summary of the law below).

During the public portion of the meeting a resident expressed support for the short-term rental law - explaining that housing affordability is a major concern among residents and opportunities like short term rentals, enabling residents to leverage their housing investments to earn income, while adhering to safety and neighborhood character standards, is a start - and that accessory dwelling units should be considered in the future.

A member of Scouts of America and the town's Greenway Trail warden made a presentation to the town explaining that Scouts would like to develop a partnership with the town where they could use Carnwath Park for campouts (Not Reese Park as the Agenda stated), service projects like trail clearing, trail marking etc. And it was generally agreed that this was a good idea, and while details like insurance coverage and expecations on both sides of the agreement (bathroom facilities, water availability etc) need to be develped and agreement upon. We were treated to the first ward council member's recollections of his own scouting experience, his recent award and his purchase of an enagement ring in 2018 and his belief in building community, leadership and citizenship skills.

Consent Agenda - No discussion required. - All Approved.

• Accepting donations from 3 local businesses for the Senior Center St. Patrick's Day Luncheon - Ulster Savings Bank, Jan Care Registered Professional Nursing PC, RPH Auto Repair, Inc.

• Accepting a donation from the Pines at Poughkeepsie to offer the monthly Senior Center birthday parties at no cost to any and all Senior Citizen in the Town of Wappinger. This was followed up with a comment from the First Ward Council Member that he found the Pines to be a wonderful facility based on his experience with family members.

Resolutions

• Resolution Adopting Local Law Number 1 "Amendment to Chapter 50, Records, and Chapter 68" - APPROVED

• - Pursuant to §57-19 of the Arts and Cultural Affairs Law, the Town Clerk shall be the records management officer.

  The following rules and regulations shall apply to the public inspection and

  copying of such Town records as are subject to public inspection by law.

  Minimum retention periods for Town records, is adopted for use by the Town Clerk.

  The Town Board authorizes the disposal of records:

  1. That are described in Retention and Disposition for New York Local Government Records (LGS-1)Records Retention and Disposition Schedule MU-1 after they have met the minimum retention periods described therein; and

  2. That do not have sufficient administrative, fiscal, legal, or historical value to merit retention beyond established legal minimum period

• Resolution Introducing a Local Law for the Purpose of Regulating Smoke and Vape Shops - Town Board Approved setting a Public Hearing for April 14th

  • The Law would do the following:

  • (1) Not more than one smoke and or vape shop shall be permitted on any lot.(2) No smoke or vape shop shall be permitted on any lot which is located within 3,500 feet of any other lot containing a smoke and or vape shop.(3) No smoke and or vape shop shall be permitted in any building which is located within 400 feet of any residential dwelling.(4) No smoke and or vape shop shall be permitted in any building which is located within 400 feet of any lot on which there is located a school, day-care center, place of worship or other religious institution, community center, public park or playing field.(5) No smoke and or vape shop shall be permitted in any building which is used in whole or in part for residential purposes. No residential use shall be established in a building of which any part is used as a smoke and or vape shop.(6) Smoke and vape shops shall comply with all other requirements of the Zoning Law as well as all applicable Town, county, state and federal laws and regulations.(7) Smoke and vape shops, shall constitute no more than 10% of the stores of floor space.

  • This kicked off a mind boggling discussion of whether a law requiring a distance between vape shops is enforceable -- because "the town has been sued in the past by a similar law regulating gas stations" -- THIS IS UNTRUE, the Town Clerk could find no such Law Suit in the Town Records, and this statement has been used in the past to justify a zoning code change which has effectively enabled the mess in Hughsonville. There were additional questions about how this law would be enforced, the involvement of the building department. The Conversation then veered off into a many minute soliloquy about Spas in the town that provided Massage services and how to identify them (Newspapers covering windows and more action in the back door than front door), what activities are happening in these locations (human trafficking was supposed), how this information is known (council member waching some locations), what can be done - multiple law enforcement jurisdictions involved, and the use of cosmotology licenses instead of massage therapy licenses. It is very unclear why so much time needed to be spent on this.

• Resolution Introducing a change to the Zoning Code to allow and govern short term rentals in the Town - Town Board Approved setting a Public Hearing for April 14th

  • The current zoning code does not address short term rentals, the thinking had been laissez-faire, however with the tragic accident where two people were killed in a fire in the county earlier this year in another town, regulations concerning safety and fire safety are thought. to be required. A discussion about a burden on homeowners in providing the fire safety equipment was held, with a requirement for annual fire safety inspections, a fee to cover the costs of the inspections, a substantial fine for any property owner not complying, ensuring that guests know their location in the event of an emergency requiring a 911 call.

• A Resolution updating definitions of Smoke and Vape Shops, as a companion to the resolution above was approved.

• A Resolution authorizing the purchase of a tractor engine was withdrawn, because it was in the approved budget, but the supervisor introduced the resolution in the name of transparency.

  
  

  We then had an update of the plantings and the status at Sgt. Palmateer Park, with thanks to Wappingers Falls Toyota for their support, Congratulations to the Hughsonville Fire Deparment for their 112 year anniversary (celebrated with a party), mention of the Town Parks revitialization, a meeting with citizens in the Midpoint and Wildwood Sewer Districts about how if sump pumps were redirected to Storm Sewers, it could relieve some of the I&I pressures on the aging plants, lessening the need for upgrades (and costs), 7 Miles of townroads are scheduled to be repaved this year -- and lots of congratulations to Town Council Member for a recent award. https://midhudsonnews.com/2025/03/25/truitt-helps-scout-council-recognize-dutchess-county-leaders/

  
  

• The Town Board went into executive session to discussion litigation and contracts.