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ADOPTED
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN - 2007
Cover and Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Chapter 1: Introduction and Vision
Chapter 2: Existing Conditions - Profile
Chapter 2: Existing Conditions - Demographics
Chapter 2: Existing Conditions - Land Use
Chapter 2: Existing Conditions - Natural Features
Chapter 3: Policy and Implementation
Chapter 4: Future Land Use
Chapter 4: Future Land Use Map
Chapter 5: Conclusion
Appendices
Appendix Cover
Appendix A: SWOT Analysis
Appendix B: Community Survey
Appendix C: Survey Results
Appendix D: Focus Groups
Appendix E: Public Workshop
Appendix F: Development Survey
COMPREHENSIVE
PLANNING PROCESS
The following describes
the process used to develop the City of Oneonta
Comprehensive Plan, as documented as the project
progressed.
INTRODUCTION
The City of Oneonta updated its
1995 Comprehensive Plan.
Clark-Patterson
Associates of Rochester, New York was retained
by the city to do the project.
The updated comprehensive plan will assist elected and
appointed officials, businesses, developers, community
organizations and citizens to bring the vision of the
city into fruition. It shall provide a roadmap to
the future that sets forth both recommendations and
goals for moving toward implementing the
recommendations. It shall also from the basis for
updating zoning and other regulations and applying these
regulations to future development.
PLAN COMPONENTS
Major components of the
comprehensive plan update included the following:
1. Meetings:
There were a number of meetings both public and with
the Planning Steering Committee throughout the planning
process.
2. Public
Participation: Public participation was a key
element in the update of the plan and the process was as open and as inclusive as possible.
3. Initial
Community Input: A community survey was
distributed, developed by the consultant with input by
the Planning Steering Committee to garner community
sentiment on issues impacting the city.
4. Community
Assessment and Analysis: An inventory of the
city's existing conditions and an assessment of those
conditions was conducted identifying strengths,
challenges and community values.
5. Development of
Community Visions/Goals and Objectives: Based upon
all the work encompassed in items 1-4, the consultant
developed a draft statement of the visions, goals
and objectives for the comprehensive plan.
6. Develop
Implementation Strategy: A comprehensive plan's
effectiveness is dependent upon the implementation
strategy developed to implement the plan's components.
An implementation strategy was developed and
included such items as zoning code changes,
subdivision regulations changes and a funding source
assessment.
7. Develop Draft
Comprehensive Plan: A draft comprehensive plan
was developed by the consultant and the city initiated and followed through with the SEQR process.
8. Develop Final
Comprehensive Plan: A final comprehensive planning
document was provided by the consultant after all
reviews, changes and public comments have been
considered and integrated into the document.
9. Adoption:
The consultant prepared all adoption documents as
required.
PROGRESS TO DATE
A
Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee was put into place
to work with the consultant. Members of the
Steering Committee included:
Richard
Miller, Co-Chair
Barry Warren, Co-Chair
Vince Foti
Michelle Eastman
Robert Robinson
Karen Sullivan
Gary Herzig
Karen Elting
Maureen Hennessy
Bob Lawson
Jeff Lord
Joe Ruffino
Bill Youngs
Jim Koury, Ex-officio
In order
to begin the process, a “kickoff” meeting was held on
January 10, 2006 at 6:30 PM in the Common Council
Chambers, City Hall, 258 Main Street. At that time
Clark Patterson Associates’ Andy Raus reviewed the scope
of the project and the tentative schedule and conducted
a SWOT Analysis
(Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats).
On
January 24 from 8:00 a.m. to Noon, Mayor Nader co-hosted
a meeting at SUNY Oneonta’s Morris Complex to involve
various community leaders in the comprehensive planning
process, and to underscore the significance of the plan
to the entire community. The meeting was not for
the general public but was by invitation only.
However, the press was cordially invited to attend the
proceedings.
Two meetings of the Steering Committee have been held
since the January 10th kick off meeting and the
committee will meet monthly on the 4th Thursday of each
month at 4:00 p.m. with the exception of the November
and December meetings which had to be rescheduled due to
the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays.
The
minutes of the Steering Committee are provided below:
March 1, 2006
March 23, 2006
April 27, 2006
May 25, 2006 - No meeting held
June 22, 2006
July 27, 2006
August 24, 2006
September 21, 2006
October 25, 2006 - Public Forum at SUNY College at
Oneonta: 6:30 to 9:30 PM (see below)
November 16, 2006
December 14, 2006
A community survey was distributed to a sample of
city residents in order to help identify the values and
goals of the city and to assist in formulating
recommendations that will make Oneonta an even better
place to live. A total of 750 surveys had been
sent out to resident property owners and renters.
The deadline for returning the survey to Clark Patterson
Associates was June 9, 2006.
Additionally focus groups sessions were scheduled
for June 14, 2006. Focus group invitations were
sent out the week of May 29th. Focus group topic
areas included: Quality of Life; Destination
and Image; Administration and Government; Economic
Health and Revitalization; and Downtown. A
summary of the focus
group sessions has been completed along with draft
policy statements. The summary was presented to
the Steering Committee at its June 22nd meeting.
The committee will review the document and bring
comments back to Clark-Patterson Associates to be
discussed at the next meeting of the committee to be
held on July 27, 2006.
The Steering Committee met on July 27th and Clark
Patterson distributed and discussed the
survey summary as
well as the draft
policies and objectives. These items will be
discussed again a the August 24th meeting of the
committee. Additionally, the committee will be
looking at developing a list of immediate action items
that can be addressed prior to the plan's formal
adoption. A public forum will be held on October
12th at the Morris Complex at which Clark Patterson will
be reviewing the process to date and to garner public
input into the planning process and the products
produced thus far. It is the hope of Clark
Patterson to have a draft land use plan developed for
discussion at the October 12th public forum.
The Steering Committee met again on August 24th. A
number of items were discussed at the meeting. CPA
handed out a revised policies and objectives document
entitled, "City
of Oneonta Comprehensive Plan: Policies,
Objectives and Strategies, August 2006." The
committee would also be doing an exercise related to the
prioritization of short-term action items. CPA
will be getting the information together for the
committee to conduct the prioritization. The
committee then discussed the October public forum and
then began the analysis of land use.
The Steering Committee met again on September 21st.
The committee's task at hand at the meeting was the
discussion of the land use plan to be presented to the
public at the forum to be held on October 25th.
The next formal meeting of the committee will be
November 16, 2006 at 4:00 PM in the Basement Conference
Room, City Hall, 258 Main Street.
A public workshop
was held on October 25, 2006 from 6:30 to 9:30 PM at
the Morris Complex on the SUNY Oneonta Campus. The
public was cordially invited to attend. Participants
had the opportunity to be directly engaged in the
development of the City’s Comprehensive Plan. The
Workshop allowed for constructive discussion of
issues such as the development of policies for future
land use, community and economic development.
The Steering Committee met again on Thursday, November
16th. Mr. Kelley of CPA presented a summary of the
October 25th Public Forum. Other issues emerging
from the forum were also discussed. The next
formal meeting of the committee will be held on
Thursday, December 14, 2006 at 4:00 PM at City Hall, 258
Main Street. The following are summary documents
presented at the meeting resulting from the October 25th
workshop:
Workshop
Agenda/Information
Workshop Preferred
Development Survey Results
Design Workshop Comments
The Steering Committee met on December 14, 2006 to
discuss the draft plan submitted by Clark-Patterson
Associates. After discussion of proposed changes,
a motion was made and passed to forward the plan with
the changes included to the Mayor and Common Council.
Clark Patterson stated that an additional draft of the
plan would be returned to the City of Oneonta with the
changes included.
Next steps included review by the Common Council, SEQR
review, Otsego County Planning Board review followed by
the adoption of the plan by the Council.
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