BALLSTON SPA — The Ballston Spa Board of Trustees, as well as other boards and committees in the village, will begin reviewing the village’s draft comprehensive plan and provide any comments or potential changes to the document that will utimately set the municipality’s future goals.
Residents are also encouraged to review the document and ask questions or provide feedback, said Mayor Frank Rossi.
“It’s never a bad idea to have public participation of the final product,” said Karla Williams, the village attorney, during a village trustee meeting held Monday when the draft plan was discussed.
John Behan, a principal at Behan Planning, provided an overview of the plan, which took over two years to create and included community input through public outreach and a survey.
The goals of the plan were broken down by sections such as open space and recreation, housing and economic considerations and then further by short-term, medium-term and long-term goals.
Some of the draft plan’s goals include:
- Creating more recreation resources for parks
- Providing affordable housing options
- Implementing smart technology across the village
- Establishing a plan to promote the community locally
- Upgrading the water infrastructure
Trustee Liz Kormos said that while she liked the plan, she wanted to see a separate section for transportation.
“Most comprehensive plans that I’ve seen do treat that as a separate section,” she said.
Other board members did not provide immediate thoughts about the plan during the meeting.
Williams said the plan is available in hard copy for viewing at village hall or the library and online, at the village’s website.
The next steps in the process include gathering feedback from the community and various boards.
“We’re going to take the time for you folks and everybody who wants to to review it,” Williams said.
The village will also need to gather any comments from the Saratoga County Planning Board and conduct an environmental review.
“This will take a number of months,” Williams said.
Once all of that is done, Williams said the Board of Trustees will need to approve the final plan following a public hearing. Once approved, changes can be made to the village’s zoning code.
Rossi encouraged residents to email him, any of the trustees or the village at [email protected] with any feedback.
Categories: -News-, News, Saratoga County, Saratoga Springs
