Dear Editor,
The most significant planning project we’ve undertaken in recent years, our Comprehensive Plan process, is nearly finished. The plan is called Sustainable Ossining, and was funded in part by a grant from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. It evaluates sustainability through what we refer to as the “three Es” – environment, economy, and equity. The sections of the plan dealing with land use are specific to the unincorporated area of the Town of Ossining.
This is the product of over 2 years of work – we started in January 2020! Though we were constrained at times by pandemic restrictions, we pushed through with virtual and in person engagement where possible, with hundreds of participants in Zoom meetings, surveys, pop-up events, posters, and more. The draft plan has been available for public review since February 1. Huge thanks to our Steering Committee – comprised of residents, business owners, and other stakeholders – for their careful review and input throughout the process.
We opened a public hearing on the plan at our March 8 Town Board meeting, and will reopen it during the March 22 Town Board meeting. It will likely be extended to at least the April 12meeting. Both of those meetings will be hybrid meetings – via Zoom and in person at the Ossining Municipal Building, 16 Croton Avenue. Zoom information posted to our website, www.TownofOssining.com the Friday before for those who prefer not to attend in-person. Public hearings are always at the top of our agenda – right at 7:30pm – so if you would like to speak, please be sure to come on time. If that timing is challenging for you, you can always provide written comment as part of the public record in between meetings (or in addition to meetings, if you have more to contribute) by emailing the Town Clerk at sdonnelly@townofossining.com. We anticipate having a revised draft of the comprehensive plan by the end of March for public review prior to the April 12 Town Board Legislative Session.
Once the plan has been approved by the Town Board, we will turn our focus to a review of our Town Code, policies, and procedures to bring this plan to life. We are already planning to undertake an Open Space Preservation plan, as we have heard from the community and our Town Environmental Advisory Committee throughout the Comprehensive Plan process that open space, for both recreation and preservation, is extremely important.
You can review the draft plan by visiting the project website, www.SustainableOssining.com. Summaries of all public engagement efforts and interim reports developed throughout the process are also available on the project website. If you would like to get email updates about the plan, visit our website and click the button that says “Subscribe to Sustainable Ossining” and enter your email address and name.
In advance, thank you for contributing to the sustainable future of Ossining.
Sincerely,
Dana Levenberg
Supervisor, Town of Ossining
