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The Lansing Town Planning Board voted to send its draft of the latest Comprehensive Plan revision Monday for final consideration by the Town Board.  After considering public comments board members agreed to send those comments and concerns along with its recommendation to the Town Board, setting the stage for possible official adoption of the plan before the end of this year.  But Town Board members disagreed with each other on how quickly they should approve the plan.

Planning Board members felt that many issues raised were already addressed in the plan, and noted that the public misunderstood some issues already addressed, the Planning Board's legal obligations relative to the plan, and the purpose of comprehensive plans, which is to be a guide for future legislation while not itself being legislation at all. 

"I don't think the public understood that the Comp Plan is not a law," said Planning Board member Al Fiorille. "It's a guideline."

Planning Board member Larry Sharpsteen worried that the public may not understand state requirements defining comprehensive plans.   But Comprehensive Plan Committee Chair Connie Wilcox said that aside from information in the plan itself, the committee did inform the public of the process and its expectations for future passage.

"We were very clear about that," Wilcox said.  "We had an informational session that went through the whole thing, including state law and everything."

Planning Board members addressed about ten issues that multiple members of the public had commented on, including the future of the 'Bell Station' lakefront property, various potential zoning changes, support of town trails, the impact of changing 'RA' zoning to 'AG', the fate of the 'town center land' across Route 34B from the town ball fields, traffic and drainage issues, and the potential formation of an environmental advisory committee.

While Sharpsteen noted the public perception is that the Town has abandoned trails because there is no official trails committee, Lansing Supervisor Ed LaVigne explained that the Town Board recently established and is funding a trails reserve fund to provide funding, as needed, to purchase land for public trails.  Town Attorney Guy Krogh also noted that Trails Committee members were give n the option to become established as an official committee, or to re-form as a 'Friends of' style committee similar in structure to the 'Friends of Salt Point' committee.  He said they had declined to do either, but some had continued to volunteer to maintain the Lansing Center Trail.

While most stakeholders seem to agree that the level of scrutiny the plan revision has undergone since the first of two Comprehensive Plan Revision Committees was established in 2012, Town Board members and Chairwoman Wilcox have been especially anxious to bring the process to an end.  Wilcox has repeatedly stated that the plan is simply a guide for future development, and that its absence has held up planning initiatives.  LaVigne has also expressed some eagerness to have the plan accepted in a timely manner.

After considering public concerns, Sharpsteen suggested redrafting the plan one more time, which would push back the Planning Board's recommendation to the Town Board by another month.  The idea was met with groans from town officials attending the meeting.  Code Enforcement officer Lynn Day said it would be helpful if it could be dealt with in the next Town Board meeting, scheduled two days later.  While Wilcox protested that the plan is just a guide for future consideration of zoning and related planning issues, LaVigne also protested.

"It's a guide," he chided. "It's not the third tablet from Mount Sinai!"

A moment later the Planning Board voted unanimously to send the current draft to the Town Board along with notes addressing their discussion Monday night and all public concerns that had been forwarded to them or expressed in the October 30th public hearing.  Before accepting a revision to the Comprehensive Plan the Town Board is also required to hold a public hearing. 

On Wednesday the Town Board set the hearing for its December 20th meeting.  Town Planner Michael Long noted that this will be the fourth public hearing, and Councilman Doug Dake said there had been other public meetings to address the Comprehensive Plan.

Councilwoman Katrina Binkewicz objected to scheduling the public hearing so close to the holidays, and proposed a Town Board working meeting to discuss the plan in January, and possibly another one in February, when she proposed the public hearing be conducted.

"Setting a public hearing the week before Christmas is not embracing people's ability to get there," said Binkewicz.  "As a board we have not had a chance to talk about details that were brought up in the public hearing.  It's incumbent on us to have a working meeting to talk about it.  It could be in December, but I would prefer to wait until January.  I just think it's a bit hurried, because it's just now reached our table and there are things to discuss."

But Councilman Doug Dake disagreed.

"In my opinion this has gone on far too long," he said.  "This has been going on for seven years.  It's been hashed out over and over and over again.  The Planning Board has had it for close to a year, and it's a compromise.  On Monday I thought the Planning Board addressed not all, but most of the public comments in a very respectful manner.  I think they've done a fine job doing it."

LaVigne polled the other board members.  Andra Benson agreed that holding the public hearing in December would discourage people, busy with the holidays, from coming.  Councilman Robert Cree agreed with Dake, saying the Town Board has known it's been coming.

"It's not a matter of not knowing it," Binkewicz countered.  "We haven't discussed it as a board in public, and that's our job.  I think the Planning Board has done a good job.  I'm not saying they haven't.  The concrete changes that were made at the last minute in response to the public were respectful, but I do think there were specific comments that we should talk about.  And we should have time to go over what they presented to us."

She said holding the hearing in December is not fair to people who want to be there or to the board members' ability to give it their full attention.  A member of the public concurred, arguing that if it has taken seven years to craft the plan revision a few more months wouldn't make a difference.

"I would like to get this behind us," LaVigne said.  "Then we still have the land use ordinance to go through, and you still have zoning changes to go through, if there are any... This marathon keeps going.  We have the information available to people if they want to read it.  We have had more than one public hearing where I think we have respectfully looked at their questions and seen if they were feasible for us to incorporate them, through the planning board, through the other subcommittees... this has been going on for a long time.  We need to put this to bed and move on to the next phase."

The Board voted 3-2 to schedule the hearing in December, with LaVigne, Dake, and Cree voting yes, and Binkewicz and Benson voting no.  Unless there are major issues that have not been considered it is likely the Town Board will accept the plan that evening.

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