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Introduction
Our quality of life depends upon the quality and
character of our community; as our community changes, it is important to
understand and plan for the effects of this change. The comprehensive
planning process can help our community prepare for our future needs and
set forth recommendations to guide growth and development in rational,
efficient ways. We can determine the kind of economic development we
want to encourage or discourage, and which valuable resources should be
preserved. A sound comprehensive plan ensures that the vision for our
community is realized, while also accommodating and attracting desirable
growth.
Consider for a moment what our community will look like
in twenty years if nothing is done to plan for its future. Like many
municipalities in New York State, you may be noticing that valuable
natural areas, farmlands and timberlands are slowly being replaced by
new development. You may see strip malls springing up in outlying areas,
even as downtown struggles to survive. Perhaps you recognize a need for
expanded public services, but are uncertain of how to meet this demand.
Our comprehensive plan can recommend strategies to preserve the
important features of our community. The alternative-an unplanned
community where haphazard development can easily dominate-should not be
acceptable.
Where and how are new neighborhoods being built in our
municipality? How are existing neighborhoods re-developing? What are the
concerns of people living in our community? Can they walk to commercial
centers, schools and public buildings? Are there neighborhood parks and
open spaces to enjoy? Is affordable housing available for current and
future residents?
All too many communities lack a "vision" of their
future. Consider what kinds of new development lack of comprehensive
plan, zoning laws and subdivision regulations may lead to, and then
think about whether these trends will result in the kind of place where
you want to live. Good planning tools can help create a thriving
community where people want to live, work and visit.
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What is a Comprehensive Plan?
A comprehensive plan sets forth goals and recommended
actions which make a community a good place to live, work and visit. The
comprehensive plan outlines what needs to be done and how to do it, in
order to ensure that the community grows in an orderly, well-thought out
fashion, and that its needs will be meet.
A comprehensive plan is not a static
blueprint of how to reach a specific endpoint. Rather, it is a living
document that provides continual guidance for the work of the
community's staff and leaders. To ensure that a community is headed in
the right direction, municipal decisions need to be weighed against the
values and ideas set forth in its plan.
There is, admittedly, some confusion regarding the
terminology associated with comprehensive planning. For many years, a
community's overall plan was commonly referred to as its "master plan."
Other acceptable terms included "land use plan," "vision plan," "vision
plan," ect. Following the passage of new State legislation in 1995, the
term" comprehensive plan" became the legal reference for plans adopted
by a municipality.
It is important to note that, while the comprehensive
plan sets forth recommendations for the ways in which a community should
develop, and might also include a variety of maps as guidelines, the
plan itself is not a regulation. Instead, a comprehensive
plan states where a community has been, what it is currently like, and
where it is going. Local laws, ordinances and regulations are just some
of the critical rules of the game for getting there.
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