COMPREHENSIVE PLAN & ZONING REVISION
PURPOSE
The Village of Trumansburg’s first Comprehensive Plan was adopted in February 2008. Now, a decade later, the Village is beginning a thorough review of that plan to find out what, if anything, may have changed in the past ten years with respect to the community’s desires for the future. Once this necessary process is completed, a review of the 2012 Zoning Ordinance will take place to see what changes may be needed to keep the Ordinance aligned with the Comprehensive Plan.
COMMITTEE
To facilitate this project, a Committee has been formed by the Village Board to shepherd the review and revision process. The Committee consists of one member from each of the Village boards (Village Board, Planning Board, Zoning Board of Appeals), the Village Zoning Officer, the Village Code Enforcement Officer, and several members of the community at large who all bring to the table various perspectives and viewpoints. The members of the Committee are:
Ben Darfler, Chair (Village Trustee)
Scott Sheavly (BZA Member)
Steph Bailey (Planning Board Alternate)
Tom Myers (Code Enforcement/Interim Zoning Officer)
David Breeden
Kathy Klemperer
Tom Pepe
Under the supervision of the Mayor, the mandate of this Committee is to, among other things, organize the public forums that will drive the information gathering process for the revised Comp Plan, as well as assist in the selection process, and then work closely with, the third party consultant that the Village is going to use throughout the rewriting process. The Committee will also be the first group to review and offer edits and comments on draft documents created by the third party consultant, before making recommendations to the Village Board.
All questions regarding the Committee should be addressed to Mayor Hart at mayor@trumansburg-ny.gov
CONSULTANT
The Village Board released an RFP in 2018 seeking the services of a professional planning firm to aggregate and collate data collected throughout this process. The firm chosen by the committee and approved by the Village Board in February 2019 was EDR: Environmental Design & Research, out of Syracuse NY. With extensive experience and expertise the team of Jane, Walt & Erica from EDR, will lead the Village of Trumansburg through the process of receiving community feedback, and drafting the language of the revised Comprehensive Plan as well as, later, drafting the language of the revised Zoning Ordinance. The firm will work closely with the Committee and the community in all stages of the review and revision of the Comp Plan and the Zoning.
More information about EDR can be found on their website HERE.
TIMELINE (updated April 2019)
2018
- Committee formalized. (Completed)
- RFP released. (Completed)
- Begin review of RFP responses. (Completed)
2019
- Award bid – the winning bidder will then work with the Comp Plan/Zoning Review Committee through the remainder of the project. (Completed)
- EDR to conduct research. (In progress)
- EDR to conduct independent surveys. (To be scheduled)
- Host multiple community forums/workshop to gather information, under the guidance of EDR. (To be scheduled)
- Revised Comp Plan drafting begins.
- Review of Draft Revised Comp Plan
2020
- Comp Plan adoption
- Review and draft revision of 2012 Zoning Ordinance
- Public review/comment/input on Draft Revised Zoning
- Revised Zoning Ordinance adoption
UPDATES
- June 12, 2018 – An RFP has been released for a professional planning firm to assist the Comprehensive Plan & Zoning Revision Committee in this process. The RFP can be found HERE. (Completed)
- February 14, 2019 – A Contract was signed with EDR: Environmental Design & Research firm out of Syracuse. There website can be found HERE.
- March 15, 2019 – A draft community outreach plan has been developed by EDR. The Comprehensive Plan & Zoning Revision Committee will continue to refine the plan as we move forward. 2019-03-15 DRAFT Village of Trumansburg Community Outreach Plan
- April 11, 2019 – EDR and committee met to review aerial maps of Village of Trumansburg
MEETINGS
Meetings are open to the public and community members are encouraged to attend.
Meetings are scheduled for the Second Tuesday of each month, from 6:30 – 8:00 pm, and are hosted at the Village Hall (unless indicated otherwise).
- March 14, 2019 Meeting
- April 11, 2019 Meeting
- NEXT MEETING: May 9, 2019 Meeting
- Agenda:
FAQs
Q: What is a Comprehensive Plan?
A: A Comprehensive Plan is a guiding document which identifies a vision for a community’s future and outlines strategies to achieve that vision. A “Comp Plan” is not law, but is used to inform how laws, particularly zoning laws, are written. The 2008 Comprehensive Plan can be found HERE.
Q: Why do we need a Comprehensive Plan?
A: NY State law strongly encourages Villages to adopt Comprehensive Plans and, over many years, case law has called into question – and in some cases invalidated – laws passed without a Comp Plan, or not in keeping with a Comp Plan.
Q: What is zoning?
A: Zoning law governs land use and can be as loose as having no zoning at all, or can be as restrictive as to dictate the size, style, architecture, and aesthetic design of a property, both commercial and residential. Effective zoning strikes a balance between a community’s desire for governance of land use and private property owner’s rights.