Waterfront Advisory Board

Managing our waterfront

Our Mission

The Waterfront Advisory Board shall be established and appointed by the Town Board of the Town of Esopus. The Board shall consist of nine members who shall be appointed for a period of three years, except that the first Board shall consist of three members appointed for three years, three members appointed for two years and three members appointed for one year. Each member shall be a resident of the town. Members shall be chosen for their demonstrated knowledge, ability and readiness to serve the Board in functions described in this chapter and with due regard for maintaining among the membership a range of special aptitudes and expertise in areas relevant to the work of the Board. In addition, one member shall be a member of the Planning Board, one shall be a member of the Environmental Board and one shall be a member of the Zoning Board of Appeals. Members of the Board shall serve without compensation, but shall be entitled to reimbursement for necessary expenditures in the performance of their work, subject to limitations of the budget established by the town.

The Board's basic task will be to advise and assist in the implementation of the LWRP, its policies and projects, including physical, legislative, regulatory, administrative and other actions included in the program. In pursuance of this task, the Board will:

  1. Advise the Town Board on implementation, priorities, work assignments, time tables and budgetary requirements of the program.
  2. Review applications for site plans, zone changes, subdivisions and public works projects in the coastal area, as may be referred to it, and advise the appropriate agency as to their consistency with policies of the LWRP.
  3. Subject to the approval of the Town Board, make application for funding from state, federal or other sources to finance projects under the LWRP.
  4. Maintain liaison with related town bodies, including, but not limited to, the Planning and Zoning Boards and the Environmental Board, and with concerned nongovernmental bodies, in order to further the implementation of the LWRP.
  5. Upon the request of the Town Board, evaluate, in timely fashion, proposed actions of state agencies within the coastal zone in order to assure consistency of such actions with policies of the LWRP, advise the Board of any conflicts and participate in discussions to resolve such conflicts.
  6. Assist the Town Board in the review of proposed federal actions referred to it by the Department of State and provide its opinion concerning the consistency of the action with local coastal policies.
  7. Prepare an annual report on progress achieved and problems encountered during the year and recommend such actions as the Board considers necessary for the further implementation of the LWRP to the appropriate body.
  8. Perform other functions regarding the waterfront area as the Town Board may assign to it from time to time.

WAB & WAC

In October 2020, the Waterfront Advisory Board (WAB) was tasked with updating the Town's 1987 Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LWRP). The WAB is being supplemented by additional representation, providing added expertise and knowledge of the Town of Esopus, recreational and environmental resources, as well as other specialties determined beneficial to the preparation of the LWRP Update. Together, the WAB and additional representation is referred to as the Waterfront Advisory Committee (WAC). Additional members are still being added to the WAC. Please see the Current Projects section on the homepage of this website and click on the LWRP Update to catch up on current progress.

Water Chestnuts

Every summer, local volunteers spend time containing the spread of water chestnuts — an invasive species affecting the Hudson River —  by taking turns running Chester, the Town's water chestnut weeding boat. Carol Tomassetti, leader of these efforts and member of the Waterfront Advisory Board, has released a report on the Summer 2020 weeding progress: click here to read the report.

Board Members

Chet Allen
Vincent Coq
Lynn Corcoran-Johnston
Margaret Phelan
Eli Schloss
Carol Carson Tomassetti
Tim Triscari
Marion Zimmer

Secretary

Lisa K. Mance
845-339-1811, ext. 126
planning-zoning@esopus.com

Town Board Liaison

Kathie Quick
845-331-7358