City Planning Commission continues update of Comprehensive Plan
NORWICH – The city’s Planning Commission met Monday night to hear a second preliminary report – focused on recreation, culture and tourism – as it continues its update of the 2003 Comprehensive Plan.
Planning and Community Development Specialist Todd Dreyer’s hour-long presentation addressed the city’s achievements since the 2003 Comprehensive Plan went into effect, as well as the continuing issues, opportunities and challenges it faces looking forward.
While Dreyer said he didn’t anticipate any major changes to the updated plan in regards to recreation, he proposed a new section focused solely on culture and tourism within the city. Both have a significant impact, he added, and it’s important to have a collective community vision in place before moving ahead.
“As we receive more community input, we will be able to refine the Comprehensive Plan prior to its submission to the city’s Common Council,” said Dreyer. “Public participation is an important part of this process and we want to stress public involvement. We’re encouraging people to attend these meetings and it’s an opportunity for them to have some influence on the future of the city.”
The city had some major recreational achievements since drafting the 2003 Comprehensive Plan, reported Dreyer, including the installation of the Borden Avenue Skateboard Park; new playground apparatus at the Weiler and South Broad Street Parks; expansion of the city’s Youth Bureau programs; renovation of the tennis courts at the Perry Browne Elementary School; incorporation of the Chenango Greenway Conservancy into trail licenses with the city and the Norwich City School District and the extensive redesign and renovations planned for East and West Parks this spring and summer.
Scott Sutton of the Parks Commission commented that it’s apparent the city’s parks are a huge part of the updated Comprehensive Plan and that nice, well-kept parks will attract tourism and are important to the community. The establishment of a capital reserve specifically for parks would also be of great benefit, he added.
Looking ahead, Dreyer said the restrooms at Weiler Park – often a target for vandalism and misuse – and the resurfacing of its tennis courts must be addressed. In addition, the city must consider ways to integrate the recreational needs of Morrisville State College Norwich Campus students into the community and a future use of the NYS&W railway. While no decision on the rail corridor has officially been made, it’s likely that – over the course of the Comprehensive Plan’s update – a recreational or utility corridor may be under consideration.
Culture and tourism in the city – since the 2003 Comprehensive Plan was drafted – saw continued expansion of the Northeast Classic Car Museum and the Chenango County Historical Society Museum; production of a monthly on-line calendar of events by the Chenango County Council of the Arts; revised and reprinted walking tour brochures featuring the architecture of the city in 2007 and 2010 and the proposed renovation of East and West Parks, including a permanent bandstand in East Park.
Dreyer also noted that the city is now home to three professional dance studios, and said the arts and cultural activities it hosts continue to thrive and are vital to its economic development.
In the future, the city must establish a more observable identity for its Museum District and consider implementing an occupancy tax on hotels to help fund tourism promotion, he added.
Dreyer stressed that no definitive changes will be made to the Comprehensive Plan until further revisions take place over the course of the next year. Once completed, a draft of the updated plan will be reviewed by the Planning Commission before its presentation to the Common Council in late fall of 2011 or early 2012.
Future presentations will address other areas in need of revision, including community services; economic development; natural resources and the environment; historic preservation; transportation and infrastructure and regional issues.
“I think Norwich is really the kind of place that the rest of America would like to be like,” stated Dreyer at the conclusion of the presentation. “We have a lot to be thankful for here.”
For more information on the city’s current Comprehensive Plan, visit www.norwichnewyork.net.
Planning and Community Development Specialist Todd Dreyer’s hour-long presentation addressed the city’s achievements since the 2003 Comprehensive Plan went into effect, as well as the continuing issues, opportunities and challenges it faces looking forward.
While Dreyer said he didn’t anticipate any major changes to the updated plan in regards to recreation, he proposed a new section focused solely on culture and tourism within the city. Both have a significant impact, he added, and it’s important to have a collective community vision in place before moving ahead.
“As we receive more community input, we will be able to refine the Comprehensive Plan prior to its submission to the city’s Common Council,” said Dreyer. “Public participation is an important part of this process and we want to stress public involvement. We’re encouraging people to attend these meetings and it’s an opportunity for them to have some influence on the future of the city.”
The city had some major recreational achievements since drafting the 2003 Comprehensive Plan, reported Dreyer, including the installation of the Borden Avenue Skateboard Park; new playground apparatus at the Weiler and South Broad Street Parks; expansion of the city’s Youth Bureau programs; renovation of the tennis courts at the Perry Browne Elementary School; incorporation of the Chenango Greenway Conservancy into trail licenses with the city and the Norwich City School District and the extensive redesign and renovations planned for East and West Parks this spring and summer.
Scott Sutton of the Parks Commission commented that it’s apparent the city’s parks are a huge part of the updated Comprehensive Plan and that nice, well-kept parks will attract tourism and are important to the community. The establishment of a capital reserve specifically for parks would also be of great benefit, he added.
Looking ahead, Dreyer said the restrooms at Weiler Park – often a target for vandalism and misuse – and the resurfacing of its tennis courts must be addressed. In addition, the city must consider ways to integrate the recreational needs of Morrisville State College Norwich Campus students into the community and a future use of the NYS&W railway. While no decision on the rail corridor has officially been made, it’s likely that – over the course of the Comprehensive Plan’s update – a recreational or utility corridor may be under consideration.
Culture and tourism in the city – since the 2003 Comprehensive Plan was drafted – saw continued expansion of the Northeast Classic Car Museum and the Chenango County Historical Society Museum; production of a monthly on-line calendar of events by the Chenango County Council of the Arts; revised and reprinted walking tour brochures featuring the architecture of the city in 2007 and 2010 and the proposed renovation of East and West Parks, including a permanent bandstand in East Park.
Dreyer also noted that the city is now home to three professional dance studios, and said the arts and cultural activities it hosts continue to thrive and are vital to its economic development.
In the future, the city must establish a more observable identity for its Museum District and consider implementing an occupancy tax on hotels to help fund tourism promotion, he added.
Dreyer stressed that no definitive changes will be made to the Comprehensive Plan until further revisions take place over the course of the next year. Once completed, a draft of the updated plan will be reviewed by the Planning Commission before its presentation to the Common Council in late fall of 2011 or early 2012.
Future presentations will address other areas in need of revision, including community services; economic development; natural resources and the environment; historic preservation; transportation and infrastructure and regional issues.
“I think Norwich is really the kind of place that the rest of America would like to be like,” stated Dreyer at the conclusion of the presentation. “We have a lot to be thankful for here.”
For more information on the city’s current Comprehensive Plan, visit www.norwichnewyork.net.
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