Bethlehem Tomorrow

Bethlehem Tomorrow is thrilled and proud to announce that the Town of Bethlehem has earned the elite Climate Smart Communities Silver Certification. This is the highest sustainability level recognized by NYS Dept of Environmental Conservation. With this award, the Town of Bethlehem joins just 18 other silver communities in New York State that are demonstrating local leadership through their commitment to advancing climate actions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve community resilience.

This certification was awarded based on the many actions the Town of Bethlehem has taken including:
• Conserving nearly 700 acres of open space over the last seven years
• Expanding the Town’s Compost Facility, which is one of the most sophisticated in the state and is the only place for food scraps composting in the Capital Region
• Completing the award-winning Bethlehem Forward Comprehensive Plan Update
• Purchasing electric vehicles for the Town Fleet and installing public charging stations for electric vehicles
• Building a 3.75 MW town-owned solar farm and installing solar panels on the Parks & Recreation administration building
• Improving and expanding infrastructure to support walking and cycling

Congratulations and THANK YOU to David VanLuven, Town Supervisor and the Town Board for their strong commitment to sustainability, and to Supervisor Van Luven, Agnes Zellin, and Chris Lennard for their work to successfully showcase the town's important strides to NYS DEC. We celebrate the Town of Bethlehem's achievements over the last 7+ years, as recognized by NYS!

Tom Schnurr, Bethlehem Town Board MemberDavid R. DeCancio, Bethlehem Town Board MemberMaureen Cunningham, Bethlehem Town Board MemberJoyce Heath Becker

The Town of Bethlehem Planning Board is closing its period for written and oral comments on the DRAFT BETHLEHEM ZONING AND SUBDIVISION CODES UPDATE this Tuesday, March 18, at 6pm at Town Hall. It is important to make your views known while the window of opportunity remains.

See the current proposed zoning map below.

Once again we are petitioning the Bethlehem Planning Board to address concerns about the future of the Normanside Country Club. We are asking that the RURAL MULTI-USE zoning code designation, currently in place for that and three other recreational properties, be updated to COMMERCIAL RECREATION. https://www.change.org/p/zoning-matters-protect-the-future-of-normanside?recruiter=1368381321&recruited_by_id=2f1014d0-01ca-11f0-a539-a541d7db3681&utm_source=share-personal&utm_campaign=starter_onboarding_share_flow&utm_medium=copylink

RURAL MULTI-USE would allow all these uses:
Single-family dwelling
Two-family dwelling
Multi-family (3-4) dwelling
Motor vehicle sales
Farm equipment storage/repair/sales
Lumberyard/Contractor’s yard

COMMERCIAL RECREATION would allow these uses:
Any facility where primary intent is to provide amusement, pleasure or sport. Typical uses include dance studios, golf courses, health and athletic clubs, bowling alleys, and youth clubs.

Sign Here: Petition to Protect the Future of the Normanside
If you have ever sleighed, cross-country skied, golfed, or snowshoed on the golf course, walked or biked along Salisbury Road, you know what a lovely and ecologically significant natural setting it is along the Normanskill. It is invaluable to both current residents and future generations residing in Bethlehem and should be preserved and protected from residential development by a Commercial Recreation code.

Please join us on Tuesday to stand with others and voice your concerns directly to the Planning Board. Zoning matters!

View of the Normanskill, near Albany, New York courtesy of Albany Institute of History and Art
James M. Hart (1828-1901) c. 1850

February 2 World Wetlands Day.