Geneva invites community to review comprehensive plan

After much anticipation, the citizens of the City of Geneva will have the opportunity to see and review the draft Comprehensive Plan and Community Decision-Making Guide in a special presentation on Monday, May 9th at 6:30 PM at the Sons of Italy, located at 31 Prospect Avenue. The Comprehensive Plan steering committee for the City of Geneva invites and encourages community members to join Peter Lombardi from czb, LLC (the plan’s consulting team) who will be presenting the draft plan. Following the presentation, there will be a question and answer session. City Council and the City’s Planning Board will hear a presentation on the draft plan this Wednesday May 4th at 5 PM at the Geneva Housing Authority, located at 41 Lewis Street. The draft plan will then be made available for review online at www.genevanrc.org at 7 PM. Paper copies will be available at City Hall on the first floor and at the Geneva Public Library. The plan is divided into three sections: – Part 1 is a summary of findings, the City’s vision and values, and principles, and priority initiatives.- Part 2 provides the community assessment and analysis, the soon to come sustainability goals (called the Project Benefits Metrics Report), and the State Environmental Quality Review Act documents.- Part 3 provides the summaries and analyses from the Big Talk in the Little City dialogues and community survey. City Council will have a work session to discuss the plan on Tuesday, May 10th at 6 PM at the Geneva Housing Authority. Both the May 4th and May 10th sessions are open for community members to attend and listen. A public hearing is being set for the June 1st City Council meeting at 7 PM at the Public Safety Building (255 Exchange Street). Additional comments can be sent to Sage Gerling at [email protected] or 315-828-6585.The committee requests that all comments be sent in by June 10th. “The committee has worked hard to get to the draft stage and community feedback is critical to the plan process. Revisions to the draft will be made in June and July with adoption of the plan anticipated at the August 3rd City Council meeting,” said Sage Gerling, Director of the Office of Neighborhood Initiatives. The City’s comprehensive plan is part of Governor Cuomo’s Cleaner, Greener Communities program, a major statewide initiative encouraging communities to incorporate sustainability goals and principles into local decision-making, and then form partnerships to transform markets that lead to the reduction of emissions and the generation of economic benefits. The program, administered by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), also empowers communities to take action, providing technical resources and decision-making tools on land use, housing, transportation, energy, economic development and environmental practices, resulting in more vibrant and prosperous New York. The last comprehensive plan was completed in 1997, and a new plan is being created to reflect modern planning initiatives. The total cost of the project is $90,000, with $50,000 in support from NYSERDA, $10,000 from the LDC, $10,000 from the IDA, and $20,000 from the City.