MONTGOMERY – The Town of Montgomery is updating its plans for the future. The Town is proceeding in an eight-month effort to update its comprehensive plan for the first time in more than 15 years. The planning process is being led by a Comprehensive Plan Committee comprised of representatives from various geographic areas of the Town and its Villages as well as representatives of varying interests including agricultural, economic development, conservation, and planning. The Committee will kick off a series of public meetings intended to gather input from the public in September.
The Committee is inviting input by Town residents, landowners, business owners and other stakeholders at its first upcoming meeting scheduled for Wednesday, September 9th from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at the Coldenham Fire Department – 511 Coldenham Road, Walden, NY 12586. This meeting will engage the public on a broad basis to determine what stakeholders feel are the community’s strengths and weaknesses as well as what opportunities and threats exist. Attendance will be limited to no more than 40 in-person, but attendance by Zoom meeting will also be possible for those wishing to maintain social distance. Please contact Meghan Hurlburt – Secretary to the Committee at (845) 457-2600 or via email at: mhurlburt@townofmontgomery.com to RSVP and ensure an in-person place is available.
A second meeting with an identical format will be held on Saturday morning of September 12th from 10:30 AM to 12:30 AM at Montgomery Senior Center – 36 Bridge Street, Montgomery NY 12549.
These meetings will be preceded by the launch of an on-line survey available through the Town’s website at www.townofmontgomery.com. This survey will engage the public for input on a broad range of issues and alternatives. Paper surveys may be requested from Meghan Hurlburt via the phone and email listed previously.
The comprehensive plan guides growth in the community by establishing how land should be used throughout the Town, what building sizes and densities are appropriate, what roadway improvements should be made, what community facilities are required, and other matters of public policy. This effort builds upon earlier plans while considering current economic and demographic data, up-to-date land use information, and new approaches to environmental sustainability. Agricultural preservation and economic development have quickly emerged as the most critical issues facing the Town.
“The public has been very vocal in recent years that the Town’s land use plan requires reconsideration,” said Brian Maher, Supervisor of the Town. “The Town entered into a moratorium on large warehouses and is undertaking this process to examine our current aging plan, and make sure the Town has a Plan that reflects current best practices for sustainable development as well as a Vision for the Town grounded in broad public outreach.”
The two initial SWOT meetings will be followed up with two open-houses on Wednesday, September 16th between 6 PM and 8 PM at Maybrook Senior Center – 111 Schipps Lane, Maybrook NY 12543 and at Walden Firehouse – 230 Old Orange Avenue, Walden NY 12586. This meeting will allow interested persons or small groups to move through a series of tables that will present an issue facing the Town and engage them with an exercise designed to provide focused input.
“It has been a challenge designing a public outreach program that can gather input from a broad cross-section of the community while respecting the need to maintain social distancing and other safe practices in the current pandemic environment,” said Cindy Voss, a Town Councilwoman and Chair of the Committee, “We think this series of meetings and surveys will provide the Committee with meaningful input upon which to base an updated plan.”
The Town’s Committee has been working with the planning firm of Nelson, Pope & Voorhis, LLC (NPV), that performs similar work throughout the region..
