Monticello, NY – Select municipalities across Sullivan County will soon be launching projects under the County’s Business-Friendly Zoning & Permitting and Remove Unsafe Structures (RUSt) programs. Participants were awarded funding to improve their zoning and permitting processes and remove hazardous structures from their communities. The Division of Planning & Community Development has funds still available for municipalities who wish to do the same.
Business-Friendly Zoning & Permitting Program recipients include the Town of Forestburgh and the Village of Bloomingburg. Forestburgh has been awarded $7,500 to revise the Town’s zoning code to create commercial districts to facilitate commercial development in certain corridors. Bloomingburg has been awarded $8,500 to upload the Village’s code to eCode to make it readily accessible online.
“Both projects exemplify the program’s purpose,” noted District 9 Legislator Alan Sorensen, chair of the Legislature’s Planning Committee, “by making their local development regulations and review procedures more conducive and hospitable to business and economic development through increased clarity and transparency.”
Communities have been processing applications for land use approval for decades, encountering new challenges and difficulties and crafting solutions to each one when encountered. Because of this, many communities have developed their land use approval processes, standards, and forms incrementally over years, oftentimes resulting in an inefficient process.
“In many municipalities, the land use review and approval process has become hard to understand, time-consuming, and expensive, in some cases preventing developers from undertaking priority sustainable economic development projects,” Sorensen explained. “To reduce these obstacles, municipalities can streamline the review and approval process by clarifying how the process works for applicants, consolidating and simplifying processes for approvals where possible, and reducing process length. Actions such as simplifying permitting processes to reduce fees, time, and variances, as well as reducing or waiving fees for small-scale projects with generally low impacts, are a good place to start.”
Funding is available to support the costs of attorneys, planners and other professionals, permit-tracking technology, and related expenses.
Remove Unsafe Structures (RUSt) Program recipients include the Sullivan County Land Bank, the Village of Liberty, and the Village of Woodridge. The Land Bank and the Village of Liberty are working together to remove five structures within the Village. Each of the five properties are located near Liberty Central School District schools and post public safety threats in downtown Liberty. The Village of Woodridge is removing a partially-collapsed building on Broadway.
Applicants can apply for up to $18,000 to offset the cost of tipping and disposal fees.
Administered by the Division of Planning & Community Development, the program guidelines and application form are available on the Division’s page at www.SullivanNY.us, under “Technical Assistance & Funding Opportunities.” Applications must be received by 4 p.m. on July 12.
Applicants are encouraged to discuss any projects with the Division of Planning & Community Development prior to applying. Staff is available to answer questions and to assist municipalities with project development and applications during regular business hours. For more information, contact Shannon Cilento at Shannon.Cilento@sullivanny.us or call 845-807-0529.