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RESCHEDULED: Walkable Communities and Comprehensive Planning Trainings

Training Poster

Monticello, NY – How can thoughtful planning and zoning shape vibrant and attractive rural communities? What is a Planning Board or ZBA’s role in this process?

The Sullivan County Division of Planning and Community Development invites local planning, zoning, and municipal officials as well as interested community members to an upcoming training workshop to explore these ideas. Representatives from the Department of State will lead two training sessions on Thursday, March 30 from 4-7:30 p.m. at the SUNY Sullivan Upper Hermann Library Conference Room – Building E, Room 220, in Loch Sheldrake. Light fare will be provided in between sessions for attendees.

“Our local government officials at the town and village levels often hold the keys to development, and smart growth depends on their ability to follow the law and properly guide their communities to a better future,” notes District 8 Legislator Ira Steingart, chair of the Legislature’s Planning Committee. “The County wants to empower them to make the best decisions possible for the municipalities they serve, because those choices will make our whole region a better place to live and work.”

Planning and zoning board members will receive NYS-required training credits. Please RSVP by Friday, March 24 so that your certificate will be available for pick-up at the event.

Pick one or both of these seminars to attend:

  • Creating Walkable Communities, 4-5 p.m. - Increasing the availability and attractiveness of pedestrian facilities can help revitalize towns, provide an alternative means of transportation, and encourage a healthier lifestyle. This session provides an overview of several common municipal land use tools (zoning, site plan review, subdivision regulations, and special use permit). The program then explores how these tools can be tailored to improve pedestrian conditions by the implementation of pedestrian and bicycling plans, installation of pathways, as well as through the encouragement of better site design. (1 credit hour)
  • Using Your Community’s Comprehensive Plan, 5:30-7:30 p.m. – This session will include a discussion of the practical and legal benefits of adopting, utilizing, and updating a comprehensive plan. Included are the importance of involving the public in the development of the plan; plan contents; and steps leading to the adoption or update of a comprehensive plan. It will also cover how to utilize an existing Comprehensive Plan in work being done by Planning and Zoning board members in evaluating proposed development. There will be a review of the comprehensive plan statutes as well. (2 credit hours)

This event is free and open to the public. To reserve a spot or for further information, contact Kassondra Johnstone at (845) 807-0533 or planning@sullivanny.us.