We, the undersigned, live in New Paltz or the surrounding communities, are concerned about and connected to Huguenot Street. We support the former Jewett farmstead being occupied by a school teaching the uses of herbs, which is in line with its traditional agricultural use. We recognize that ArborVitae is a unique asset to our community that we want to continue on Huguenot St.

In addition, we recognize:

- ArborVitae’s use of the property is in character with the existing neighborhood. There have been no physical changes to the property and the building. ArborVitae utilizes looks no different than other single-family homes on Huguenot Street. 
- ArborVitae’s presence is helping to preserve and maintain this view and a historic home, which might otherwise fall into disrepair.
- The limited number of classes that ArborVitae holds have had no impact on noise or traffic.
- ArborVitae has a positive relationship with their community.
- ArborVitae is a unique asset to our community.

Thank you for considering to sign this petition. If you do sign, we encourage you to add any comments (particularly noting if you are from New Paltz or have other connections to ArborVitae). *If you are from New Paltz or the Hudson Valley, please comment stating that.

The public hearing meeting is on Tuesday, June 13th from 7-9pm at 25 Plattekill Road, New Paltz.
If you would like to stream in over Zoom - https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84704008483?pwd=MEZXN2tKUkNqYXRFRGIvWUNJSE1WQT09#success

Meeting ID: 847 0400 8483 Passcode: 165491

More information about ArborVitae:

Introducing ArborVitae and Its Place on Historic Huguenot Street.

ArborVitae is a small school with a far-reaching mission. We are dedicated to marrying the traditional practices of herbalism to modern times and needs. Within this, ArborVitae is dedicated to the community it is a part of – its land and people, ecosystems and communities, habitat and health, and the web of diversity that is necessary for well-being. We honor and learn from history, seek to restore what is broken and bring vitality into the present.

ArborVitae's Move from NYC to Huguenot St

ArborVitae was founded in January 2013 offering a comprehensive 3-year professional program in traditional herbal education (see below), and services the community through open classes and traveling clinics and classes to numerous largely underserved communities. During the pandemic, we faced considerable hardship to stay open as a school, but because so many believe in our mission, we have been able to continue. We had sought to move to the New Paltz region as we sought to expand our mission to have access to land to grow medicinal plants and to be accessible to people outside NYC. Also, the lower Hudson Valley had become home to all primary people who work with ArborVitae. Within this, ArborVitae also required a place near a bus station/public transportation for students to commute and not require the use of a car to attend.

ArborVitae searched for quite a long time to find such a place and finally were grateful to find and move ArborVitae to 181 Huguenot St. - a large-scaled historic house, a place that so specifically aligns with our needs and mission (as well as a bus station within a walkable distance to the property.) Even the interior of the house requires no adjustments to perfectly align with the use of the school.

The Unique and Notable History of the Jewett Farmstead

The Jewett Farmstead property itself is unique to the neighborhood as it has a large-scaled farmhouse set on easement-protected farmland that is unique from all other properties on Huguenot St. including the neighboring farm which does not have a large-scale historic house nor has an open historic view limiting its use. The property’s history is also unique to the neighborhood, in addition to being a home-occupied resident business (dairy and cattle farm) with farmer-tenant housing on the property. The farmhouse has also been a boarding house because of the generous size.

The property including the house is zoned as a Rural Residence with acreage (240) as opposed to residential zoning for all other houses on Huguenot St. The house also lies within the Village of New Paltz historic district. The property as a whole is zoned as agricultural, (213 acres specifically for cattle and animals) and within the Town of New Paltz.

ArborVitae, School of Traditional Herbalism is a unique school that specifically aligns the unique nature of the property, and also requires a unique property to teach about the traditional use of plants for food and health and also to identify, grow, forage, harvest and make ‘value added’ farm-based products. It has been our desire in moving on to the property to grow medicinal and culinary herbs and food and to teach how to grow and harvest in sustainable ways in the support of local economies.

ArborVitae Meets and is Aligned With the Intentions of Historic Zoning.

Honoring and enlivening historical ways to bring them into a sustainable future is part and parcel of the mission and practice of ArborVitae School of Traditional Herbalism. Here below are brief answers to the Village of New Paltz Commission for Historic Preservation Legislative intent.

(1) Protect and enhance the landmarks and historic districts which represent distinctive elements of the historic, architectural and cultural heritage of the Village;

In its one-year residence on the property, ArborVitae has protected and enhanced the historic and distinctive nature of the farmhouse and view and seeks to continue to do so. Its historic use aligns with the school. Even the interior of the house requires no adjustments to perfectly align with the use of the school. There have been no negative impacts on the neighborhood.

(2) Focus attention on and foster civic pride in the historic resources of the Village;

ArborVitae has in its first year begun connections with neighbors, many have come to our open house and free health clinics. We have worked with local organizations including the New Paltz Elting Memorial Public Library, The Maya Gold Foundation, The People’s Place in Kingston and the New Paltz’s community garden, Garden of Nutrition, to offer free classes and free wellness clinics and have supported 5 non-profit nature preserves. We seek to continue to do more so if we can continue at 181 Huguenot St.

(3) Protect and enhance the attractiveness of the Village to visitors and support and provide stimulus to the local economy;

ArborVitae provides stimulus to local economy by bringing visitors to the area in a way that does not disturb the quiet residential quality of the street and maintains a beautiful view of the Shawangunk cliffs which we hope to enhance even more so. We welcome neighbors to walk the property and welcome organizations such as the Wallkill Valley Land Trust and Historic Huguenot Street to also give walks on the property. We are very open to other community uses as well.

(4) Insure the harmonious, orderly and efficient growth and development of the Village.

ArborVitae can provide a living and dynamic continuation of the historical use of farmhouse and farmlands that can contribute to the sustainable growth while not impeding on the historical nature of the property whatsoever.

ArborVitae Teaches Skills Needed For Modern Agriculture

Growing, harvesting and foraging techniques and methods, botany (plant ID), care of soil and ecosystem and the production of value-added products from herbal harvest as food and medicine are critically needed for training as an herbalist. These are all a focus of ArborVitae’s curriculum. These are all essential skills for farmers and taught in agriculture schools and skills particularly needed for modern farmers to survive economically.

There are many types of farms today and an herb farm is often a part of, if not the direct focus, of most small to medium sized farms. Herbal education is now particularly needed for and a part of agriculture. As mentioned above, ArborVitae moved to the Jewett farmstead to realize and expand the education in the topics above.

Most farms have had to diversify to survive in modern economy. A great number of students have sought out ArborVitae related to its education for growing and harvesting and understanding of ecosystems, and many more have become professional growers / farmers as a result of their education. For those who are not directly growing, their knowledge in all aspects of identifying, growing, harvesting and producing herb products is necessary to support such agricultural businesses and to be an herbalist in general.

Education itself is intimately connected to most farms. The tradition of farmer apprenticeships has been organized into formal training for many farms in the region and throughout the world today. Also farms often need to educate their customers in different ways (such as how to cook and process food and the sustainable practices they use to distinguish their products). Numerous organizations have emerged to support the needed educational part of farming today to service. In this way too ArborVitae is connected to needs of modern farming.

ArborVitae's Use of the Property

ArborVitae’s program is hybrid and only in-person for 8 weekends of the year (The 9th weekend is held further north.) Classes are held during daytime and students sleep and eat elsewhere supporting New Paltz area BnBs and restaurants. A number of students take the bus to New Paltz. Those who drive mostly park their cars in public lots on either end of Huguenot St and walk to school to limit parking at the property. We aim to have 60 students in the program and the generous size rooms have tables and chairs for all. But within that we have never yet had all students present at once at the school. Apart from some streaming out of need when in-person there are regular day trips and health clinics off site.

Use Variance for Agricultural, Land/Plant-Based Instructional School or as an Intrepretation as Agricultural - Home Occupation Use

The kind of Use Variance we seek is one that is appropriate for the history of the property as well as to allow the property to continue as an agricultural business as there is particular hardship in maintaining the property, as it stands currently.

ArborVitae is not seeking general commercial use of the property. In the easement, which also governs the use of the land, agricultural use while it is a business is specifically excepted from being categorized under commercial use. Also NYS zoning code states the zoning for schools (specifically ‘Special schools and institutions’ -614) are under “Community Services” (600 category).

ArborVitae's Future Huguenot

ArborVitae first and foremost seeks to be a resource for the community and support the vitality of New Paltz. If we are able to continue at the Jewett farmstead, ArborVitae seeks to renew the use as an herb and food farm and restore what is not cultivated with native flora allowing native biodiverse species to re-populate the land, and in doing so will also create lands for sustainable herbal wildcrafting.

We already have the support of many neighbors and the community but seek to extend this even more so, so we are able to continue to offer our services on Historic Huguenot St.

Thank you all for taking time to consider ArborVitae.