BERNE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

1) The town of Berne is updating its comprehensive plan.  The Comprehensive Plan committee meets on December 2 at the Berne Town Hall. While they already have a full agenda, they do allow time for public comment. Here are proposals for them to consider:
Whereas increasing the number of travelers to the town would be a benefit to the economy of the town:

• The planning and construction of scenic trails for use by hikers, bikers, horseback riding, fisherman, photographers, cross country runners, etc is encouraged. In the fall they might be used by hunters; in the winter by cross country skiers and snow mobiles.
• Landowners whose land a trail crosses or who live within 1000 feet of a trail are encouraged to build facilities along such trails to benefit users of the trails and to charge for their use: tent camping sites, toilet facilities, picnic tables, fire pits.
• In any district of the town a home owner may operate a Guest House. The definition of a Guest House is a home owner who makes extra bedrooms available in their home for occasional guests. The Guest House is not a business but rather a way to earn extra money for the home owner from time to time. 
• With special permits, landowners in agricultural districts may build up to five cabins to rent by the day or week, and to build facilities for use by up to five recreation vehicle campers.
  

Someone from the town would need to present the above proposal for discussion.

2) The main page of Albany Hilltowns wiki site has been updated to remove the offending phrases "Tourists" and "Tourism." It turns out they give many people bad connations of the hill towns being turned into a Woodstock with tour buses, pollution, and congestion.

3) Here is a direct link to a page on the Albany Hilltowns site titled Head for the Hills - the Albany Hilltowns. It has many ideas for giving folks below the hill reasons to visit the hill towns.

4) The Facebook group for people to support the idea that increasing the number of visitors to the hill towns would beneficial has been renamed the same name Head for the Hills - the Albany Hilltowns.

5)  Here is a direct link Berne Natural History and Outdoor Recreation, a page that lists existing natural reserves that visitors can go to hike, picnic, cross-country ski, etc. It also had some thoughts for expanding outdoor recreation opportunities in the future.