Comprehensive Plan Meetings
Comprehensive Plan Committee meetings are held as needed at the Town Hall, generally weekly, at 7 PM on Monday nights with an occasional Saturday meeting as well, and are always open to the public.
Upcoming Meetings:
May 19, 7:00pm
Committee Members
Art Bassin, Chairman
Barry Chase, Vice Chair
Gene Aleinikoff
Jim Bryant
Bonnie Hundt
Kyle Lougheed
Don MacLean
Chris Sommerhoff
Leah Wilcox
Agendas / Minutes
05/12/08 - agenda
12/29/07 - minutes
04/26/07 - minutes
Comprehensive Plan
Developing A Road Map
A Comprehensive Plan is the road map that guides a town’s decisions related to future growth and development. It is also a process that lets the current residents of Ancram define what they want the future of Ancram to look like, and how they want the Town to develop. It is the basis for the Town’s zoning, land use and subdivision laws, and will provide a framework for all town, county and state officials as they make decisions which will affect the town. A comprehensive plan deals with basic issues like growth and development, revitalizing our hamlets, maintaining open space, agriculture, the rural character of the Town, historic preservation, affordable housing, recreation and parks, traffic, road maintenance, natural resources, infrastructure, economic development and other topics of concern to residents.
The previous Ancram Development Plan was done in 1972, and has served the town well. But things have changed in the last 35 years. What made sense back in 1972 may not make sense today, and what the residents of Ancram thought was important and wanted in 1972 may not be what we think or want today. We already know that many townspeople today are interested in affordable housing for residents, protecting the Town’s agricultural economy, open spaces and rural character, and doing what is necessary to help revitalize the hamlets. The 1972 “Plan” and resulting land use and zoning laws do not adequately support these priorities, so doing a “new” comprehensive plan may be the only way to enable some of these interests to be addressed.
The Ancram Town Board appointed the Comprehensive Planning Committee in April, 2007. In May, the Committee prepared and issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) outlining the consulting support the Town needed to help develop the comprehensive plan. We received 8 proposals by the early June deadline, interviewed six consultants and selected Community Planning and Environmental Associates in July, 2007.
The planning process started in September and October 2007 with planning workshops attended by 130 town residents. The workshops were followed in December by a survey questionnaire which was sent to all residents and property owners to seek everyone’s opinions on important planning issues. The Comp Plan Committee asked the NY Rural Water Association to conduct a groundwater protection study, which was completed in February 2008. In addition, the Committee compiled profile and inventory data on Ancram which describes the way things are in 2008, and in April 2008, developed a draft Vision Statement which describes where the Community says it wants to be in 2030, and a set of Goals to describe how we hope to achieve the Vision. The Vision and Goals were reviewed and accepted by the Town at a meeting on April 26, 2008. The Comp Plan Committee will now focus on developing the strategies, action plans and programs to implement the Goals and the Vision. The Committee expects to complete its work and present a Comprehensive Plan for review by the Community and the Town Council before the end of 2008.
Posted by Art Bassin on April 30, 2008
Documents
Comprehensive Plan Background
Proposals
Comprehensive Plan Committee RFP
Press Releases
Workshops and Survey Scheduled
Eastern States Drillers to Assist Ancram Residents
Special Meeting on 4/26 to Review Vision Statement, Goals
Background Reading Materials
An Introduction to Fiscal Impact Analysis
Carsey Institute Report on Rural America
Carsey Institute Demographic Trends in Rural and Small Town America
Profile Documents
DEC Plant and Wildlife Summary
Survey Results
Survey Results - text answers to open ended questions
Survey Results - answers to final question, #44
Workshop Results
Updates to the Town Board
CPC Town Board Update 2007-7-12
CPC Town Board Update 2007-8-07
CPC Town Board Update 2007-9-07
CPC Town Board Update 2007-10-07
CPC Town Board Update 2007-11-07
CPC Town Board Update 2007-12-07
CPC Town Board Update 2008-1-10
CPC Town Board Update 2008-2-14
CPC Town Board Update 2008-3-20
CPC Town Board Update 2008-4-17
Grant Applications