RIVER STREET PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT
Lead Planner. Margaret Irwin, Principal
River Street Planning and Development is a professional planning firm that focuses on consensus and capacity building, comprehensive planning, community and economic development and resilience. River Street will conduct comprehensive public outreach to ensure extensive community feedback is gathered and heard.
RIVER STREET PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT
Lead Planner. Margaret Irwin, Principal
River Street Planning and Development is a professional planning firm that focuses on consensus and capacity building, comprehensive planning, community and economic development and resilience. River Street will conduct comprehensive public outreach to ensure extensive community feedback is gathered and heard.
COPAKE SMART GROWTH COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
The Town of Copake is developing a new Smart Growth Comprehensive Plan to balance sustainable development with resilient growth. The new plan will build on the Town's first Comprehensive Plan, adopted in 2011 and due for an update. The updated plan will be guided by smart growth principles to establish a framework for future development actions and policy making. It will address community and economic development, housing, parks and recreation, resource conservation, historic preservation, agriculture, transportation and downtown revitalization among other potential topics. It will also build on the 2021 Waterfront and Community Revitalization Plan to further address resilience, sustainability and expansion of public access to the waterways. The comprehensive plan will serve as a roadmap to accelerate our progress toward a shared vision of the future.
New York State Department of State (DOS) recently awarded the Town $81K in funding that will add resources for supporting the planning effort in 2025. Read about the NYS DOS Smart Growth Community Planning Program or see the Smart Growth Principles below. The planning process will be guided by Copake's Comprehensive Plan Review Committee. The Supervisor and Board Members called for volunteers and then interviewed and selected members for a Comprehensive Plan Review Committee to help our selected consultant. The consultant will plan and facilitate extensive community engagement including a survey and multiple community workshops. The entire Copake community will have many opportunities to share priorities, provide input and be engaged in the planning process early in 2025 through visioning workshops, surveys and other events. (See Copake's Community Participation Plan here.)
A draft Comprehensive Plan is expected to be provided to the Town Board for review in mid-2026. At that point, the Town Board will consult the Town Planning Board, hold public hearings on the draft plan, complete SEQR, and engage Columbia County consistent with General Municipal Law Section 239-M prior to adoption.
What is a Comprehensive Plan?
A comprehensive plan presents goals, objectives and policies for the immediate and long range protection, enhancement, growth and development of the community. It provides guidance to local, county and state leaders to ensure that the needs of the community will be met. The plan serves as the reference for all laws the Town adopts related to planning and land use, including the Town’s Zoning Ordinance and a range of local laws.
Smart Growth promotes several land use planning principles that create livable, sustainable and equitable communities, including:
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Develop plans and land use regulations that allow for and encourage mixed-use neighborhoods.
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Enable a diverse mix of housing types, providing opportunity and choice for all.
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Prioritize infill and redevelopment of existing buildings to revitalize neighborhoods and downtowns, including areas around public transit.
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Provide well-planned, equitable, and accessible public spaces.
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Encourage compact neighborhood design and concentrated development around existing infrastructure.
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Preserve open space, agricultural resources, and natural resources.
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Prioritize transportation options such as walking, cycling, and public transportation.
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Promote climate resiliency and adaptation, preferably through nature-based solutions, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
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Build on unique traits to create an attractive and welcoming community with a strong sense of place.
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Engage in an inclusive, collaborative public planning process that considers the needs and character of the community.
Smart Growth Principles
Comprehensive Plan Review Committee
The Comprehensive Plan Review Committee will help oversee the Smart Growth Comprehensive Plan project as the sounding board for the Town of Copake. The Committee will support community engagement efforts to ensure the community's ideas are represented. Members will provide input on local issues; help focus the project; review draft and final documents; assist in the public outreach process; and assist in the review and selection of key projects and project priorities that will be addressed in the final Smart Growth Comprehensive Plan.
Review Committee meeting notes here.
about.
The Copake Smart Growth Comprehensive Plan Project will use funds from the New York State Department of State (DOS) to enable the Town of Copake and its residents to develop a new Smart Growth Comprehensive Plan that balances sustainable development with resilient growth. The development of the plan will be guided by Copake's Comprehensive Plan Review Committee.
Planning for the Copake Smart Growth Comprehensive Plan is funded by the New York State Department of State Division of Local Government Services.
