The Village of New Paltz has existed since the 1600s. By the mid-1800s, our little village center was bustling with businesses, places of worship, banks, a fire department and a railroad depot. Hundreds of homes were closely packed on newly-formed streets branching off of Main Street. This busy, dense central settlement surrounded by the rural remainder of New Paltz was a familiar model of communities at the time. To service the dense and growing center of New Paltz, a village government was formed in 1887. As per New York State laws, this gave control of water and sewer, streets and sidewalks, fire protection and more to the new village government, while the rural parts of New Paltz remained under the governance of the town. This made a lot of sense because the two portions of New Paltz had very different growth patterns, need for services and constituencies. 

This division of governance into the village and the town has held strong for 139 years.

It is why New Paltz has retained the desirable model of a densely-populated, business-focused, walkable core surrounded by beautiful farms, woods and mountains. The village and town have very different land-use zoning, which reflects the distinct uses and density of the village versus the town. Village control of municipal water and sewer, plus distinct zoning laws are the primary reasons that New Paltz still has a vibrant village center and a largely rural, bucolic town around it. 

Two governments serving two distinct populations with different needs is a major reason why New Paltz is New Paltz. Why it is a desirable place to live and visit. Without a village government, sprawl becomes a major concern. That is bad for the town and for the village. Vote NO on Proposition #2. Vote NO on consolidation.