NEW VISIONS WORKING GROUP E
MEETING NOTES
DATE/TIME: Wednesday, November 10, 2004 at CDRPC Offices, 9:30 AM to 11:30 AM
ATTENDANCE: Todd Fabozzi-CDRPC; Steve Feeney-Schenectady County Planning; Heather Mallozzi-Town of Malta; Sandy Misiewicz-CDTC Staff; Kevin Novak-NYSDOT Region 1; Linda von der Heide-Rensselaer County Economic Development and Planning
DISCUSSION SUMMARY: The discussion focused primarily on two handouts. The first was a summary of the Transportation Improvement Program and Incentives for Local Planning. The summary represented an attempt to uncover the potential for additional funding to be set aside for transportation projects that support “smart growth” type projects or projects that go beyond basic system preservation for motor vehicle travel. Because the original New Visions effort created a budget that allowed for separate consideration of projects supporting bicycle and pedestrian travel, transit and community compatibility and economic development projects, CDTC was already going beyond what could be done with the limited federal funding available for such projects. In addition, CDTC has been faithful to the New Visions budget in its allocation of funds in the Transportation Improvement Program. A review of the 2003-08 TIP revealed that CDTC has funded a higher percentage of non-traditional transportation projects than was actually budgeted in New Visions.
The end result is that without additional new sources of funding for the TIP, it would be very difficult to set-aside any more funding for “smart growth” projects. It would also be very difficult to make an argument for the need for such set-asides or prioritization of funds under current circumstances. That said, CDTC’s screening criteria should work to weed out those projects that have not been well thought out and should help to reward those communities that undertake pro-active planning.
The discussion then turned to the current strategies and actions in the New Visions plan to determine if there were areas that could be improved or need additional clarification with respect to pro-active planning. The group focused primarily on the regional development plan. Although this initiative may have had merit when originally incorporated in New Visions, it must be revised to reflect the current circumstances in the Capital District. Realistically, the New Visions plan itself could serve as the regional development plan with CDTC as the lead as opposed to a separate effort under CDRPC’s umbrella. The New Visions strategies and actions could also be updated to reflect a better definition and purpose of an urban service area and to further highlight the components of transportation and land use planning that will be encouraged throughout the region. The bottom line is that New Visions 2030 should be updated to reflect what was learned since the plan was first adopted in 1997 and provide some indication as to where the region should be going as a whole with respect to pro-active land use planning.
NEXT STEPS: CDTC staff, with assistance from CDRPC staff, will draft a summary discussion paper for the working group to review in January. The group will meet in January to review that paper in order to make it available to the broader Quality Region Task Force and the general public in February.