Exchange
Report cont....
III. Tourism [Top]
Observations
The Town of Highlands has many unique and enticing tourism assets. It is
bordered by Bear Mountain State Park to the South and the West Point Military
Academy to the North. A number of key events take place throughout the year at
West Point such as theatre, football games, graduations, and parades. And there
is also a steadily growing program of events taking place within the Town of
Highland Falls.
The Town is also ideally situated within easy access to a network of trails,
which provide a wide range of opportunities to enjoy access and recreation in
the surrounding countryside. The Appalachian Trail, which has worldwide
recognition, runs through Bear Mountain Park and across the famous Bear Mountain
Bridge, only minutes away from Highland Falls. The town also has many natural
resources such as Highland Falls Brook, Buttermilk Falls and an array of parks,
lakes and open spaces.
Despite these natural, historic and cultural assets, the Town of Highlands
has not realized its tourism potential. A key reason is that the town lacks a
clear and themed tourism identity, with no distinction between The Town of
Highlands and the Village of Highland Falls. Although the difference between the
two communities is an important issue to local residents, it creates confusion
for visitors to the area. Nearby villages named Highland and Highland Mills
further compound this confusion, which is also evident with the Hamlet of Fort
Montgomery because there is also the Fort Montgomery historical site and the
Town of Montgomery in New York State.
There are a number of other reasons why the Town has not realized its tourism
potential. Generally, Main Street is not visually appealing and the limited
selection of restaurants, shops and entertainment does not entice passing
tourists to stop and spend time. Main Street businesses also maintain limited
hours of operation that do not meet the needs of local commuters and tourists.
There is a lack of tourist information concerning Highland Falls and Fort
Montgomery both within the county and nationwide. This makes it extremely
difficult to raise awareness about the local area and encourage future tourism
development. More importantly, there is also very little tourism literature
available to the visitors that do come into the area. For example, the
information kiosk within the town is outdated and not fully utilized by
visitors.
There is a plethora of signage within the Town but the majority does not
provide important tourist information. Visitors are therefore unaware that there
are shops, restaurants and services situated at the south end of Main Street.
Overall there is a general lack of accommodations within Highland Falls.
Existing providers appear to be very self-sufficient and work in isolation, with
limited interaction between each other and the county tourism authority. There
are also limited quality standard guidelines for accommodation outlets, making
it difficult for the Town to guarantee a "value for money" experience.
There was some concern raised by residents of Highland Falls that increased
tourism will result in negative impacts. However, as the primary target market
is existing visitors to West Point, attracting these tourists into the Village
should not create any additional problems for the community. Existing parking
facilities should be able to sustain and support the future development of
tourism attractions and businesses within the Town, which will ultimately offer
enhanced facilities and an improved quality of life for the local community. The
increased economic benefits that tourism will bring to the area can more than
compensate for any negative impacts if tourism is carefully and proactively
planned.
Recommendations
General
 | Form a local tourism partnership that includes all tourism stakeholders to
take responsibility for driving the town's tourism strategy forward. Tourism
operators, in particular, should be encouraged to participate. The
partnership should participate in the Greenway's initiative in order to
derive maximum benefit for tourism development through advisory services and
grant funding opportunities. For more information on organization, please
see the section "Making Things Happen." |
| As discussed in other sections of this report, proactive efforts to
develop well-thought out zoning ordinances, design guidelines and site plan
review procedures will help to encourage desirable tourism growth while
minimizing the impacts of inappropriate development. |
Product Development
| The Town and Village of Highland Falls should consider adopting ONE name
that builds upon their proximity to West Point in order to build a
recognizable identity as a tourist destination. A tagline such as
"Highland Falls - Home of West Point" would provide a unique
selling point. "Home of" as opposed to "Gateway to"
denotes a sense of "ownership" of sorts. A gateway is something
one passes through, whereas a home is a comfortable place to visit. The Town
should also take advantage of its scenic location on the Hudson River to
further strengthen its identity. |
| After agreeing to one name and a theme for the Town, promote Fort
Montgomery as a significant tourist attraction and site of historic interest
versus a separate municipal entity. Regardless of the confusion associated
with the name Fort Montgomery, it is essential to maintain the Fort
Montgomery road sign as it is so closely tied to the battle site. |
| Extensive consideration was given to renaming the Town "Buttermilk
Falls" as it was in 1894. It was felt, however, that this would create
a host of problems due to the vast array of existing literature, promotional
material, business stationary, signage and international maps and atlases
that refer to Highland and Highland Falls. It would take a long time to
re-establish Buttermilk Falls, once again causing unnecessary confusion for
visitors to the Town. If for emotional or symbolic reasons, the town did
choose "Buttermilk Falls" or some other name, "the Home of
West Point" should still be kept as part of the promotional identity.
For more on one town with one name, see the discussion of consolidation
under the Government Efficiency title in the "Making Things
Happen" in the final section.
| Develop a logo and identity that is consistently incorporated in all
literature, signage and marketing material. All signs, including directional
information signs, will need to be more prominently displayed and in
accordance with the design standards of the main street revitalization
scheme. This would hopefully encourage better visitor circulation around the
town. Refer to the Main Street section for more detail on this issue. |
|
| In order to create a successful tourism development strategy, it is
critically important to undertake market research on current visitors to
local attractions and accommodations. The results of this survey will allow
the Town to develop general and special interest packages to meet the needs
of the newly defined market and encourage visitors to extend the duration of
their stay in the area. As a starting point, the Town should capitalize upon
its niche market of those Visiting Friends & Relatives (VFR) at the West
Point Military Academy and encourage them to stay overnight and make use of
the facilities within the town. |
| Take advantage of the Town's strategic location along the Appalachian
Trail. Negotiations should commence with the New York State Department of
Transportation to produce and install an information kiosk that would inform
and direct users into the Town and promote the facilities and services it
has to offer. It should also capitalize on its position within the Hudson
Valley Greenway and explore the potential for developing links to other
routes in the region and for creating heritage trails which will help the
visitor gain a deeper understanding of the history and culture of the area.
Plans for a historic trail, which would extend through the village to the
historic Fort Montgomery Battle Site, and a new visitor center are already
underway. Such plans should be encouraged, as the nearest county information
center is located some distance away. |
| Explore the potential of the Highland Falls Brook and Buttermilk Falls for
tourism development. These are attractive natural water features, which once
enhanced in accordance with the Main Street revitalization scheme will
provide charm, character and appeal to the area. The addition of picnic
tables around the green areas of Crystal Lake and Long Pond would provide a
suitable and accessible recreation facility for visitors to the area. |
| Make the county tourism authority aware of potential development
opportunities, such as the marinas of Fort Montgomery, in order that they
may be able generate media interest and discuss funding opportunities with
potential developers. |
| Take a united approach to planning and promotion of the forthcoming
celebrations of the 225th anniversary of the American Revolution in the year
2000, and the 200th anniversary of West Point in 2002. This will be
important to ensure maximum capacity and allow the accommodation industry to
provide adequate bed spaces. Event information should be promoted in and
around the county. Larger events would also benefit from advertising
features in regional newspapers in and around New York State. |
| Produce a detailed historic booklet that narrates the history and culture
of Highland Falls and Fort Montgomery for visitors. This booklet could be
sold in order to provide revenue to cover the cost of future promotional
literature and reprints. |
| Encourage residents to develop more home occupancy as a means of providing
"homey" accommodations to visitors. Other tourism development such
as hotels, motels and bed and breakfasts should be wholeheartedly supported
as they increase the accommodation base and reduce taxes for local
residents. |
| Existing hotels and motels should not fear the development of additional
lodging facilities. In the long run, such developments will increase their
occupancy during traditionally slow times. Currently, West Point Military
Academy is unable to host large basketball tournaments and similar events
that would bring in a large number of teams because there is inadequate
lodging in the immediate vicinity. More lodging would accommodate these
teams, allow West Point to hold such events, and fill the other lodging
establishments with the spectators, families, and alumni that would come to
give their support. Without the lodging, this opportunity is lost. |
| Develop packages consisting of accommodation and tours while supporting
the local restaurants and facilities. Such packages could then be promoted
via local tourism operators and group travel organizers. |
| Replace the Town's information board with a more modernized and
comprehensive map that contains information about the area, available
services and facilities. The board could be encased as a display board, as
opposed to the existing "routing" so that the map can be updated
as new businesses are developed. |
| Although there is an existing sign outside the West Point Visitors'
Information Center indicating shops and facilities within the town, a
smaller scaled information point could also be erected somewhere along the
north end of main street which attracts a larger percentage of visitors than
the south end. |
| Work with West Point to develop a dedicated tourist information area
within their prominent Visitor Center and with Bear Mountain State Park to
obtain literature racking for Highland Falls promotional material. It is
essential that all promotional information is kept up to date and adequately
stocked at both venues. |
Tourism Promotion
| In general, promotion strategies should initially focus on capturing the
nearly five million visitors already coming to the area. This will provide a
greater return on investment than spending great sums of money on
advertising outside of the region. However, there may be low cost options
for piggybacking with existing promotions by Orange County Tourism, West
Point Tours, USMA and Bear Mountain State Park. |
| Compile a narrative about "Highland Falls" and all its
attractions and collect good quality photographs. Interact more directly
with county tourism authorities to ensure that this information is contained
in ALL tourism guides and promotional material which market New York State
and the Hudson River Valley. |
| Produce a tourism guide which details ALL that the town has to offer
encompassing history, landscape, culture, accommodation, events, places to
eat, shops and places of interest. This leaflet should be available free of
charge and should be published inexpensively in order that it can be updated
when necessary. |
| Encourage local businesses and accommodation providers to advertise in
high profile promotional leaflets such as the West Point visitors map which
is distributed to 30,000 visitors annually and which presently contains
information on where to stay and where to eat in neighboring Newburgh. |
| The town should establish their own web site with reciprocal links to the
web sites of West Point, New York County Tourism and various sites of
historic relevance. A small fee could be charged for the inclusion of local
accommodation providers and businesses to raise revenue for future
promotions. There should also be a dedicated information line for people
requesting tourist information. |
IV. Land Use Development
[Top]
Issues
Observations
The Town of Highlands has a situation unlike any other municipality in the
nation. Due to federal and state landholdings, only 7% of the property within
the town is taxable. This creates an exceptionally small tax base for supporting
education and basic public services. In addition, this situation limits
opportunities for future development that could otherwise generate additional
tax revenues, not to mention the contribution such development could make to the
local economy.
Throughout its visit, the team frequently heard that the community needed
more development to expand its tax base. Yet, some circumstances over which the
municipalities do have some control are impeding property development. For
example, tax increases on developed or sub-divided property tend to outrun a
developer's ability to sell the property and recover his/her investment. An
infrastructure tax exemption on vacant lots for such circumstances was
considered in 1996, but was not passed.
The town and village already share a number of functions, including a joint
zoning board of appeals (ZBA). It also appears that the Town and Village zoning
ordinances are quite similar.
There is a common feeling among residents, business owners and developers
that zoning enforcement is lacking in both the Town and Village, particularly as
it relates to messy property. This concern is supported by the team's personal
observations. Messy property detracts from the community's appearance to
tourists, makes a poor impression on potential new businesses and residents and
affects community pride. Fortunately, local zoning ordinances provide for the
ability to address these conditions.
Local officials, developers and others have identified the absence of public
water in the Town of Highlands as a limiting factor for development in the Fort
Montgomery area. The town board has contracted the services of an engineer who
is in the process of assessing the water needs of the Town. The next step is to
assess the capacity of the Village and the West Point water line that runs by
Fort Montgomery in order to determine if either of those sources could meet the
needs of the Town. If neither of these options proves feasible, then the town
will need to develop a new water source.
West Point Academy is now considering the return of a 150-acre parcel of land
to the community.
Recommendations
| With a joint ZBA already in place, the next logical step for the Town and
Village is to establish a joint planning board with representation from both
the Town and Village. The two municipalities share many of the same
development issues and, due to their proximity to one another, any
development which takes place in one is likely have some impact on the
other. A joint planning board would encourage a comprehensive approach to
planning and would facilitate implementation of "one vision,"
something that citizens and elected leaders repeatedly expressed as
desirable during the team's visit. |
| Pursuant to Chapter 361 of the laws of 1998, a new section 485-f of the
Real Property Tax Law allows municipalities to provide for an
"infrastructure exemption." The Town and Village should pass an
exemption that would freeze the assessed value of developed or sub-divided
property until transfer of title, or for a period of two to three years from
the date of final approval. This would encourage developers by reducing
their risk. The taxing entities would not lose revenue. They would only be
deferring a short-term revenue increase for long-term gain. The law would
have no effect on local land use controls that help to ensure development
takes place in an appropriate manner. |
| The Town and Village, preferably through a new joint planning board,
should comprehensively review their zoning ordinances. Amending the area's
zoning would facilitate appropriate scale development while still
maintaining local character. The goal should be to find a reasonable
balance, not to open the door for uncontrolled growth. |
| The Town and Village boards should recognize that they have the authority
to ensure that existing zoning is enforced. This may simply be a matter of
clarifying their expectations to the code enforcement officers. There may
also be a need for enforcement training. This should be available through
the Orange County Planning Department and the New York State Department of
State. A good first step would be for the municipalities to meet with the
enforcement officers, determine if the enforcement officers need any
additional support, and discuss how control of messy conditions fits into
the community's overall efforts to improve the image it presents to
visitors. |
| Negotiations for the land transfer from West Point should continue.
Symbolically, this would have great significance for the community. It would
not only foster good will but also produce real economic benefits by
providing development opportunities that would increase tax revenue. West
Point would also benefit from additional local accommodations for its
visitors. The possibility of similar transfers of federal and state land in
the future should also be investigated. One example would be Brooks Lake
Park in the Town of Highlands and the property immediately surrounding
Brooks Lake. The state could turn this over to the Town as dedicated
parkland and the Town could maintain the trail around the lake. |
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