Supervisor Bill Reilich is pleased to announce that work has begun on the Town of Greece’s Comprehensive Plan Update. The Town has hired the consultant team of Steinmetz Planning Group and Ingalls Planning & Design to perform the work involved in the Comprehensive Plan Update, along with input from an advisory committee which is comprised of residents of the Town and various businesses, groups, and organizations.
As the name “Comprehensive Plan” implies, the Town’s update is more than a master plan for a single issue, such as land use or parks. A Comprehensive Plan can include many elements that relate to quality of life for the Town’s residents, such as community character, civic design, public health, sustainability, resiliency, community resources, active transportation, aging in place, and economic stability. The plan will have to be somewhat flexible because the future cannot be predicted with certainty.
The Town’s Comprehensive Plan Update will incorporate information from several other long-range plans and studies that the Town has performed: the 2007 Dewey Avenue Corridor Study; the 2010 Dewey Avenue Traffic Calming Study; the 2014 Town-Wide Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan; the 2016 FloodSmart Communities Action Plan; the 2016 Hojack Trail Feasibility Study; the 2016 Parks and Recreation Master Plan; the 2016 Sanitary Sewer Master Plan; and elements of the existing 2001 Land Use Master Plan.
Supervisor Reilich noted that it’s important for the community to have realistic expectations of what the Comprehensive Plan is and is not. Although the plan is intended to be comprehensive in scope, it will not be comprehensive in detail. A Comprehensive Plan is not the same thing as zoning or land use regulations, and is not intended to take away property rights or to cause immediate changes. It can guide the future and recommend actions, but it cannot determine what the future will be or ensure that certain actions will occur. Supervisor Reilich also noted some of the benefits of having an updated Comprehensive Plan, such as having a statement of policies and priorities that provide direction for decision makers, and increasing the chances of obtaining grants or other funding for Town projects.
The consultants the Town of Greece hired will prepare preliminary findings and recommendations and present them at a community forum for public feedback. Following, a final version of the Comprehensive Plan will be prepared.
“I am pleased that with many of the prerequisite plans being completed that we can update the Town’s Comprehensive Plan” said Supervisor Reilich. “This document, once complete, will service as a guide as we commit to strive for a bright future for all our residents”.