Citizens of Prattsburgh:
Two years ago (May 2006) a group of your fellow citizens was appointed to serve on a special committee to draft a comprehensive plan. The people chosen were appointed by unanimous vote of the town board – your elected governing body – and the group is a diverse cross-section of the community. The members served without pay, devoted thousands of hours to research and issues analysis, studied the findings of a community-wide survey, garnered ideas from comprehensive plans in other towns, questioned county and state planning experts, and then produced a written draft that the town board will use as its guide when adopting a final document. The elected town board will examine the committee’s work, take citizen input (oral and written), and then adopt a Prattsburgh Comprehensive Plan.
This community is moving into the future, just like every other town and city in the nation. Without a plan to keep us on track, the Prattsburgh of 2075 could be unlivable, and future generations could be asking, “What happened?” Without proper planning, our grandchildren could inherit only stories of the rural atmosphere, town square charm, agricultural prosperity, hardwood forests, open fields, and clean air and pure water we enjoy today. Planning will happen, of course, one way or the other – intelligent planning by today’s citizens, or planning by the haphazard gamble of day-to-day circumstance. Your elected town board believes that intelligent planning is the only sane option. It is also recognizes that adopting a comprehensive plan is the first step in being eligible for many state and federal loans or grants.
No one has to tell residents of Prattsburgh about changes over the past decade. New homes are sprouting up, additions have been built to our Central School and athletic fields, communications and manufacturing enterprises continue to thrive and grow, new commercial ventures have appeared, agribusiness has grown healthy and profitable, natural gas wells and pipes are seen here and there, and motor vehicle traffic has increased substantially. Power-generating wind turbines are a reality on the ridges to the west, and, in part, their arrival prompted the creation of the special committee. Without a comprehensive plan and resulting ordinances in place, the town board has little control over land use and related issues, residential sprawl, air and water quality, and commercial development. A comprehensive plan does not carry any force of law, but serves as a guide for future town board members as they pass legally binding ordinances. With such a plan on the books, the board can point to the document and say to a developer, commercial or otherwise, “that is not in keeping with our comprehensive plan and ordinances.” It deals to your elected officials a better poker hand when all parties – state, county, IDA, town, business, DEC – sit down at the table and play the card game of commercial or residential development. Without a plan, we are not even in the game.
Prior to any public hearings, this committee will present its findings – the document – to town residents during an information meeting. This first public session is not designed for debate or citizen input, but to explain how we did our work and why we ended up with the attached draft comprehensive plan. Please take a copy home and read it cover-to-cover, make notes in the margins, underline what you like or don’t like about it, then come to a follow-up public session prepared to offer advice. This document was designed for your review. We need your input, and will gladly receive your comments and questions at future public gatherings. The town board will hold public hearings as well, so there will be ample opportunity for any and all expressions of public wisdom, criticism, or endorsement.
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