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Village of Lansing Trustees accepted the latest revision of the Comprehensive Plan Monday in a unanimous vote.  According to Mayor Donald Hartill the plan does not reflect significant changes in direction for the Village, though it does reflect more than two years of work for Village Trustees, Planning Board members and citizen volunteers.  Despite accusations three and four years ago that the Village was complacent about making changes to the plan in the face of demographic population changes, Hartill says that there is no compelling reason to make major changes in the direction the Village will take over the next ten years.

"My view is that our past behavior has done us very well," Hartill said.  "I see no reason to modify that.  It's useful for me to look back and see what we have accomplished during that period of time.  We've been careful about what we spent.  Our infrastructure now is in rather good shape.  The decision moving forward is basically a conscientious maintenance program."

Village officials updated the plan to make it more readable, to update statistics, reflect newer infrastructure and improvements and current population demographics.  It reflects the current cost of housing in the Village and the fact that the government is subject to more stringent state and federal regulations, especially where storm water management is concerned.

The revision takes a somewhat narrative approach, starting with the history of the Village and a summary of changes, then an inventory of resources and conditions in the Village, largely based on census data.  It builds on that by exploring implications of those changes have for future planning initiatives, then finishes with a list of planning goals for the next decade, including the kinds of housing desired, maintaining a mutually beneficial relationship with Village businesses, maintaining and meeting increased infrastructure needs, optimizing its traffic system, planning the character, quality and sustainability of Village life, protecting the character of residential neighborhoods, developing a modal transportation system, augmenting and maintaining trails and parks, managing the natural environment, sustainability features in future development and fostering a greater sense of community.


Hartill has maintained that major changes to the plan would not be needed, but village resident Yasamin Miller argued that because of significant changes between the 2000 and 2010 censuses a survey of villagers would better inform any changes Village officials should be considering.  While the overall population total has not significantly changed since the 2000 census, she said the demographics of the Village had changed. Miller, who is the Director of the Cornell Research Institute that was eventually hired to conduct the telephone survey, advocated a Village-wide survey, which eventually was approved and administered.  Miller said the Village is older and ethnically more diverse, and has fewer renters than in 2000 according to 2010 census data.  She said there is a divide in the village between low income renters and high income homeowners.  But Hartill says the survey didn't end up providing new insights.

"The telephone survey confirmed what we knew," he said Monday.  "It's useful information.  I think the most useful information was the direct contact with business owners that one of the Trustees carried out.  That's much more valuable in terms of trying to get the pulse of what's going on the business community."

"The fact that we updated the new Comprehensive Plan satisfies the rather emotional accusation that was made a couple of elections back.  Two people wanted to make changes and kept accusing the government of using ten year old information, though things had changed," added Planning Board Chairman Mario Tomei.  "There are no major changes to a lot of things, but it satisfies that (concern), that we actually went through and did that."

The census also provided input, and Trustees' knowledge of their own activities including infrastructure and roadway improvements that included a major make-over of Triphammer Road in the mall area, the addition of traffic lights and other road improvements in the Village, and a water main that was recently installed near the Lansing Tops underneath Route 13.

Part of the process is a '239 review' by the Tompkins County Planning Department.  Village Attorney David Dubow said that the County response was positive, with only three recommendations and a few suggestions that have been addressed in the final draft.  County concerns had to do with storm water issues, sustainability and minimizing global warming.  Hartill says Village officials are looking into the possibility of installing a solar array on the public works building.  Trustee Ronny Hardaway said that one concern was that the comprehensive plan didn't address emergency response to incidents caused by climate change.  He said that Village officials recognize they have all the tools and processes in place to deal with such emergencies, but didn't mention it in the plan.  The Town of Lansing has been working on an emergency preparedness plan for months, based in part on the Village plan.

"It was a fairly minor change but it has substantial import on what the Comprehensive Plan says," Hardaway said.  "If we do experience events due to severe climate change and it endangers people, that we will address those.  We already have the tools in place to do that, and we do monitor.  it's just a matter of what caused it, and how to make it safe for the for the population."

Hartill says that while the plan does not recommend big changes for the Village, the Trustees and Planning Board will have plenty to do to maintain the course the Village has been on.  Among those tasks is a planned new park near the Northwood Apartments complexes.  Hartill says plans for the park will be designed this winter. 

"There's the day to day business," he said.  "In terms of the total investment in the Comprehensive Plan by the boards, in the two years we've been working on it, I'd be surprised if the (time) investment has been more than ten or fifteen percent.  The Planning Board and the Board of Trustees manage many things.  The Comprehensive Plan is one part of that.  The Planning Board is primarily occupied with proposals that come in.  It's been a significant effort, but not a dominant effort by any stretch of the imagination.  And it is advisory.  It's not a zoning law change or anything like that."

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