Skaneateles, New York, Joint Comprehensive Plan (2005)
Topics: Traffic/Sprawl | Comprehensive Plans
Anticipating future land use pressures, Skaneateles’ key goal is “to protect those scenic and environmental qualities that distinguish this area and maintain(s) the local economic base.” Recognizing the phenomenon of sprawl, even in areas experiencing little population growth, the town seeks “strong measures to curtail the consumption of land for development while balancing the needs of it residents.” Stating that “Highway commercial development can have a range of adverse effects including traffic problems, visual intrusions, storm water impacts, and undermining the economic viability of the Village Center as the community’s commercial core,” the plan seeks to limit highway commercial development to what is essential for servicing the local community of 7,300. Rather than “establishing competing shopping centers in the Town to provide basic goods and services, the Village commercial district (which has been the traditional focus of retail sales) should remain the center for shopping in the community.” Perhaps most notably, the plan recognizes that all community members might not be in agreement, and so recommends the additional goal of “Broad community awareness of environmental, social, and economic interdependency and the negative consequences of unregulated growth and change.” See the “zoning ordinance” section in the Skaneateles Comp Plan.
