(PLATTSBURGH- Monday September 25th, 2023) - The City of Plattsburgh is excited to announce SmartCode Plattsburgh! This spring, SmartCode Plattsburgh initiated a holistic review and update of the City of Plattsburgh’s codes to foster improvements in zoning, subdivision, and related land use regulations. The project is still in its early stages, but is expected to be completed by August 2024. This is a major effort by Planning Staff in coordination with a public advisory committee, and a team of consultants. Project updates, workshop dates and more information can be found at my.cityofplattsburgh-ny.gov/en/projects/2023-zoning-update-process
This is the first action in implementing the City's Comprehensive Plan and Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LWRP). The Comprehensive Plan, adopted on September 7, 2023, focuses on ways to help existing residents, business owners, and newcomers in the City thrive. The LWRP seeks to balance liveability, economic development, and environmental protections along Plattsburgh’s waterfront area and is expected to be finalized by the end of this year with an anticipated adoption date in February 2024. A consulting team, LaBella Associates, along with subconsultants ZoneCo and SideKick Creative, is assisting the City to align the zoning update with these two major planning documents. This team of project consultants are providing valuable expertise on facilitating public meetings, soliciting feedback and analyzing and drafting beneficial code updates.
To further assist with this effort, the City has assembled a diverse, eighteen-member Public Advisory Committee to represent each of our six City Wards, our Planning and Zoning functions, area businesses, the County, SUNY Plattsburgh, the Town of Plattsburgh, and Chamber of Commerce. The City Planning Staff, headed by the Senior Planner, is working in concert with these two teams, and will continue to do so throughout the process to ensure the City’s vision and goals are met.
The first Public Advisory meeting was held virtually on Tuesday March 14th 2023. Elisha Bartlett, Senior Planner said, “This is a prime opportunity to bring Plattsburgh into alignment with current and anticipated future trends which will set Plattsburgh up for true success”. Mayor Rosenquest added, “The complete revision of our zoning code will transform our community for the next several decades. It’s critically important that these codes are brought up-to-date and are much more inline with development trends for future growth. This will be transformational.”
A second, longer meeting was held on April 25, and included a walking and driving tour of key areas of the City for the group to hone in on. Additional check-in meetings were held throughout the summer as the consulting team gathered and compiled existing conditions data and direction from the team.
Project Timeline
The Public Advisory Committee will continue to meet every month through to the finalization of this effort. From now through the end of October, the LaBella Consulting team will work to complete an analysis of the City’s existing Code, evaluate appropriate best practices and research emerging trends and development approaches to guide potential solutions, and wrap up a series of focus group stakeholder meetings. Results of their analysis will be turned into a findings report.,
On October 18, from 5-7pm at City Hall, a Community Workshop will be held to present the initial findings to the public. From November to February, a series of design workshops will be announced for additional public participation. As we near April 2024, watch for an announcement for a Final Workshop which will provide a presentation of the final draft updates, and another opportunity for public comment. Next, the final drafts will be shared with the County Planning Board for review. Final Zoning and Subdivision Law Revisions will be completed, subjected to SEQRA Compliance, and expected to undergo Public Hearings, with the ultimate hope to provide a proposal for adoption to City Council by August 2024.
Stay Informed
Residents and members of the community are encouraged to follow along with this process and stay informed about the project by joining the city’s new online engagement platform; My.CityofPlattsburgh. Simply visit my.cityofplattsburgh-ny.gov/en/projects/2023-zoning-update-process to create a profile to receive project updates and notifications of upcoming public workshops. For questions and comments about the project please email smartcodeplattsburgh@labellapc.com
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