First of Two Public Hearing Held On Comprehensive Plan

By Michael Ryan

LEXINGTON - No time is being wasted in Lexington, readying to put a new Comprehensive Plan in motion if and when it is approved.

Town council members, at a meeting earlier this week, hosted the first of two required public hearings, listening to and possibly incorporating the ideas and opinions of citizens on the proposed Master Plan.

An extensive rewrite of the original 2003 version was done over the past year by a committee of three; local planning board chairwoman Jenni Cawein, former town council member Lynn Byrne and resident Kim McGalliard, whom Cawein describes as “a genius.”

They were given guidance in the painstaking process by consultant Nan Stolzenburg of Community Planning and Environmental Associates, utilizing grant funds from Hudson River Valley Greenway.

Cawein presented an overview of the document, Tuesday night, saying it is one thing to put words on paper and quite another to bring them to life.

“This is an opportunity for the town to define what we want to do over the next ten to fifteen years and how to do it,” Cawein said.

Various objectives are detailed in the preliminary document, drawing upon responses from residents to questions posed in a survey regarding the strengths and weaknesses of the community.

That full document is available for perusal on the town website and subject to modifications, preparing for a followup public hearing on September 17 at 6 p.m. and ultimate approval by the town council.

Comments can be submitted by letter to the town prior to that hearing and if the revision is accepted, Cawein wants to hit the ground running.

Pointing out that considerable time and effort have gone into the update, Cawein said, “we decided a couple of things right off the bat.

“We researched what a lot of other towns have done, wanting to make the best plan for Lexington, not wanting it to be a bunch of gobbledygook.

“We wanted it to be simple and easy to read. Mostly we want it to be action oriented so people use it. We don’t want it to just sit on a shelf.”

Toward that end, Cawein, Byrne and McGalliard recommend the formation of specific committees of interested citizens to implement the plan, first giving attention to modernizing the zoning and subdivision regulations.

That would ideally come soon after the plan is approved. Language in the document states it is meant to serve as a “general guide for the ultimate development of the community…and the protection of its valued assets.

“During the course of the studies and community meetings that went into preparing this Plan, the question was asked, “How can we best provide for the Town’s future development?

“From this question, community goals and planning policies were determined. In turn, these goals and policies, designed to have long term validity, became the basis for the Comprehensive Plan.”

The document is “based on both the goals of the community and the resources available, including the physical features, natural resources, existing uses of the land, population, community character, economic structure and road system.

“The updated Comprehensive Plan fits all of these elements together to provide a guide for both public and private decisions that will determine how Lexington will develop in the future.

“One major finding from the research was the realization that community engagement is key to the successful implementation of this plan.

“All of the recommended actions for this comprehensive plan involve the creation of local committees. These committees will use the tools found in the implementation checklist” contained within the document.

“The Town Board and Town Supervisor will put systems in place to actively recruit citizen volunteers who can be involved with the committees.

“Recruitment tools may include social media outreach (Instagram, Facebook), the Town website, postings on the Municipal Building bulletin board and informational tables at the Farmers Market.

“Implementing the Comprehensive Plan will require a series of Town Board policy decisions, program initiatives, and coordination with local, county, regional and state organizations and agencies.

“Some actions recommended in the Plan will also require funding. This Plan details different types of actions including capital improvements, administrative actions and establishment of programs and policies.

“Successful implementation of these actions over the next ten to fifteen years will be based on effectively setting priorities and allocating limited resources – people and funding – to the most important projects.”