NEW VISIONS WORKING GROUP E

MEETING NOTES

 

DATE/TIME: Tuesday, April 20th, 2004 at CDRPC Offices, 10 AM to 12:30 PM

 

ATTENDANCE: Todd Fabozzi-CDRPC; Steve Feeney-Schenectady County Planning; Rich Harris-Hudson River Valley Greenway; Heather Mallozzi-Town of Malta; Sandy Misiewicz-CDTC Staff; Clarence Mosher-Town of Glenville; Kevin Novak-NYSDOT Region 1; Linda von der Heide-Rensselaer County Economic Development and Planning

 

DISCUSSION SUMMARY: Todd Fabozzi led the meeting and briefly reviewed the mission statement of the working group and the proposed scope of work.  This led to a discussion of the kinds of issues the group should be considering in its work.  The following summarizes the highlights of that discussion.

 

  • The question was raised as to what is the “regional context.”  The view of the group was that on a jurisdictional level, the region would be defined as the four counties of the Capital Region, which is the same as CDTC’s MPO jurisdiction.

 

  • Some of the issues that may be detrimental to planning in the regional context are that thought is not given to the regional implications of projects. Also, it may not be clear what regional implications should be considered when making local planning decisions.

 

  • Most planning ends up being reactionary instead of proactive.  Good example of proactive planning is the Greenway Compact in Dutchess County.  They offer guidance on planning and development best practices.  Potential tool for the Capital District?

 

  • There was some discussion of the counties’ 239m review procedures and any potential for expanding this review to the 4-county region (CDRPC review? Unlikely. Check state of Florida’s regional review procedures).

 

  • CDTC’s role in assisting local communities was discussed: the kinds of services the MPO provides, are they known to community leaders, are there fees for the services, etc.  The idea was raised to have reliable, well-publicized planning assistance funded from outside of our (CDTC/CDRPC) budgets (Circuit Rider Planners as an idea).

 

  • CDTC could better fine-tune the Linkage program by creating smart growth planning incentives - perhaps a guidebook could be developed and used to guide linkage program planning studies.  Such a guidebook might contain information on good planning principles that are supported with zoning text from places that have implemented the principles and have had success with them.  There was also interest in compiling quality examples of development in a New York context.

 

  • The need for incentives is important and good planning might be rewarded through access to TIP money for projects.

 

  • There is a need to better articulate the regional planning principles to be used at the local level.

 

  • Education of local government officials is critical to promote sound planning principles.

 

  • Comprehensive planning should be encouraged and those plans should better match municipal zoning codes.  There was mention that the more concrete the zoning, the more likely they can get better projects. Also, that many zoning codes need to be revised to allow for smart growth.

 

  • There is a need to identify the existing support structure for planning in the Capital District for local governments.  What services do the counties offer, Department of State, others?  What kind of assistance can you expect?  This was identified as a key first step for the group. 

 

  • Can the official map be used as an effective planning tool for not only laying out street systems but for planning other than transportation? Explore this issue.

 

  • What assistance does NYSDOT offer and where can municipalities find document design policies?  What role does engineering judgment play in the decision making process?

 

 

 

NEXT STEPS:

 

            CDTC/CDRPC staff will explore and document:

 

  • A listing/description of local planning assistance programs and materials
  • The types of regional principles that could be considered at the local level
  • The content of regional compacts in other areas and their potential in the Capital District
  • A summary of the state of Florida’s review of developments of regional impact
  • The potential for circuit rider programs
  • The potential use of official maps
  • The potential content of a regional smart growth guide book
  • Regional incentive/assistance programs and their attributes in relation to CDTC’s Linkage program.

 

 

Once these items have been documented, a discussion draft will be distributed to the workgroup and a meeting will be set to review the document.