By Eileen Gallagher
In a joint meeting on January 20, the town board and master planning steering committee listened to a presentation by Tiffany Zezula and Kevin Dwarka of Pace Land Use Law Center.
As one of five respondents to the town’s November RFP (request for proposal) for a master planning consultant, Pace was the recommended firm, per town planner Sabrina Charney Hull. The $59k pricetag would require another $20k to include a “Downtown Revitalization” study, recommended by the steering committee members as the presentation concluded.
Zezula and Dwarka will “hone in on moving this community forward.” According to Zezula, she and her colleague will serve as close advisors, giving “clear guidance” and helping the town to navigate the master plan process. “We are here to empower,” she continued, “not steer.”
Putting forth a timeline of ten tasks, Zezula and Dwarka listed the following:
1- Downtown Revitalization Study (January through August)
2- Existing Conditions (January through April)
3- Goals and Objectives (January through May)
4- Original Planning Analysis (if necessary) (June through August)
5- Draft Planning Strategies and Implementation Tools (June through August)
6- Draft Master Plan (August through September)
7- Revision of Draft Master Plan (October)
8- Guidance on Environmental Review and Adoption (October)
9- Coordination with Master Plan Steering Committee (January through October)
10- Public Engagement (workshops) (February, May, September, October)
Addressing the downtown revitalization study scope, Dwarka (a planner and an attorney) indicated a “range of scenarios” for the downtown. He said that Transit Oriented Development, or TOD, could be about “optimizing existing retail, and enhancing connectivity to the train station, and might also be a financing strategy.” Per Dwarka, TOD offers appreciation in land values with resulting tax income to offset the costs of infrastructure.
Continuing the topic of downtown revitalization, Dwarka spoke of the demand for living, working, and shopping in one’s own community. Listing economic revitalization, environmental sustainability, and quality of life as reasons to pursue this area, he also acknowledged challenges such as land acquisition, parking, meeting the infrastructure demands, and financing.
Bob Kirkwood, a member of the steering committee, questioned whether Millwood would be included as part of this effort. Though the study is currently not scoped for both Millwood and the downtown area according to Dwarka, Kirkwood suggested that lessons gleaned from the study could then be applied to Millwood.
Board member Jason Chapin queried whether they had any reservations about the town going through with the planned infrastructure project. Dwarka replied, “I don’t think you should stop the process. You are mainly dealing with a sub-surface project.”
Supervisor Rob Greenstein suggested the possibility of taking “baby steps” with the downtown rather than proposing big changes all at once. Dwarka replied that they would be able to develop a “phased approach” for any proposed changes.
In closing, Zezula said that they will be back on February 11, “raring to go.”
