Comprehensive Plans in Our Community

by Janet Bear

On Tuesday, January 14, attendees at The Larchmont/Mamaroneck Local Summit Breakfast meeting had the opportunity to hear about the comprehensive planning process from the tri-municipal leaders and a Vice President of the Regional Plan Association.

Note: Comprehensive planning is a process that determines community goals and aspirations in terms of community development. The comprehensive plan guides public policies on transportation, utilities, land use and housing.

Nancy Seligson, Supervisor of the Town of Mamaroneck, explained that, about a year ago, the Town Board began discussing updating their Comprehensive Plan. Ms Seligson stated that the most appealing part is to ensure a “robust public engagement process”. A Comprehensive Plan, reflecting the communities interests now and in the future, would provide guidance for creating new policies regarding land use, recreation, mobility (all forms of how the public gets around), and community character. The Board is negotiating with consultants as to next steps, which will include a website presence, development and distribution of surveys and holding meetings, both large and small. These small “meetings in a box” will allow the Board to hear from a broad spectrum of the community (religious organizations, non-profit groups, businesses, etc.) Ms Seligson emphasized that the three communities and the school superintendents do meet together regularly to discuss issues of mutual interest.

Lorraine Walsh, Mayor of the Village of Larchmont, stated that “the Village of Larchmont is a living, comprehensive plan” and the Board and committees are “constantly working on a vision for what we want and working on solutions to solve our problems.” Ms Walsh spoke about numerous written plans that guide the Village operations and vision (e.g. a recent Parking Study, the collaborative effort in 2016-17 which resulted in 17 changes to the local zoning codes) and she emphasized how these plans were developed with input from a broad range of constituents. She also stated that the Village works closely with the Town of Mamaroneck on many issues.

Tom Murphy, Mayor of the Village of Mamaroneck, indicated that the Village is in the process of updating their 2012 Comprehensive Plan. The Plan will provide a vision for the future of the Village, and Mr. Murphy indicated that, “the toughest part of the process is getting broad input from the community”, particularly in a village with extremes of wealth and poverty. Mr. Murphy stated that there is constant tension between addressing current pressing concerns and looking at long-range issues. “Planning takes time, but results in a better product.”

Melissa Kaplan-Macey, VP, Regional Plan Association stated that developing a comprehensive plan allows the community to develop a vision for the future and provides an opportunity to address big picture issues in a safe space. “The process to develop the final document is what it’s all about. You must give everyone a chance for input.”

Questions from the audience covered a wide range of subjects including safety issues (street lighting, bike and pedestrian safety), addressing the needs of senior citizens, obtaining input from all constituents, especially residents in the poorer neighborhoods, and insuring your message is heard accurately by all. There were also questions about how to capture and incorporate the communities’ values in the comprehensive planning process. Each official provided examples of work that has been done in these areas, and all agreed that a comprehensive plan must incorporate input from all constituencies.

This breakfast forum was hosted by the Larchmont/Mamaroneck Local Summit, an informal community council that seeks to make life better for all in the tri-municipal area. Its monthly meetings are held at the Nautilus Diner in Mamaroneck at 7:45 a.m., generally on the second Tuesday of the month. The next meeting will be on Tuesday, February 11 on the topic of LMC-TV.