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Village Main Street Tools

Connecting the Dots

Agenda

Friday, December 6, 2002

10 am - 12 noon

Genesee/Finger Lakes Regional Planning Council

City Place

50 West Main Street

8th Floor, Conference Room C (see receptionist across from elevator)

Rochester, New York 14614

585-454-0190

10:00   Introduction

10:05   Community Snapshots

10:25   Village Main Street Issues

10:55   Issues Connections

11:15   Where can we go from here?

11:35  Wrap Up & Next Steps

Minutes

Introductions

David Zorn (G/FL RPC), Margaret M. DelPlato (G/FL RPC) Will Poppe (G/FL RPC & NYSERDA) Rich Perrin (GTC), Rob Brooks (Governor’s Office on Small Cities), Roger Brown (Barkstrom & Lacroix), Larry Stid (City of Rochester Planning Department), Joan Dupont (NYSDOT), Steve Ferranti (SRF), Virginia Bartos & Bob Englert (OPRHP), Tom Skoglund (Village of Warsaw/Wyoming County) and Wayne Hale (Orleans County Planning & Tourism)

Community Snapshots

• Wyoming County/Village of Warsaw Snapshot –

  • Wyoming County has a strategic plan

    • Nine villages, 4 with public sewer and water

    • Villages have been considered key centers for investment

  • Wyoming County just submitted an EZ applications

  • Brownfield redevelopment project completed by IDA - kept land in industrial use

  • Agriculture surrounds the villages

  • Conflicts - farming and residential development

  • Village of Warsaw is the county seat with a strong employment base in government and hospital services

  • There is a growth in population outside of the village

  • Warsaw is a little fish in a big pond

  • Retail was vibrant until there was a push towards big box & strip development

  • Highway improvements have been a real positive

  • There is quite a bit of underutilized floor space in the village center

  • The village had a façade study done and has a historic district in place

  • There is an increase in senior population

  • Traffic is a concern on N. Main

  • The creek is overlooked and underutilized – it has potential for walkers, bikers, etc.

  • In 1994 a Comprehensive Plan was completed and amended in 1996.

  • Warsaw is now part of a county Chamber of Commerce

• Orleans County/Village of Albion Snapshot –

  • Albion is the county seat

    • 10 towns and 4 villages in Orleans County

  • Transportation is an important aspect of revitalization (it ties directly to tourism and economic development)

  • The canal needs attention

  • Ames closing means there is no retain in the village

  • Historic District in place in Albion

  • Some devastating fires downtown destroyed vitality

• People are not aware of their community assets

  • There is a need for local awareness and a visionary/pioneer to lead the community

• Decentralized water services are a challenge

• Civic centers (library, community centers, schools) are moving out of village core due to the limitations of space

• Administrative challenges occur when there is so much paper work and a feeling that technical assistance is not readily available to assist this process

  • Villages lack staff to pursue and follow up on initiatives

• Poor awareness of historical importance – especially the Erie Canal

• Need to look at arts & culture as an asset

• Poor signage does not bring in and/or keep people into village centers

• Traffic speed is a concern

• There is a need to get wired – technology has to be in the small villages as well as larger suburban and urban centers

  • Tie the infrastructure upgrades into current construction

• There needs to be an increase in small retail as opposed to large malls and big box development

• Design/zoning can make a village unique by promoting character

• Development policies do not always support the concept of Main Street centers

• Diversity in race, age, income, housing stock, land use is often viewed as a challenge but it can be a positive

• Towns and villages do not always plan together

• Fiscal limitations – no body wants to hike up taxes to support Main Street

  • Little public investment

  • Little private investment

• Businesses need to work together – Chambers and Business Associations are very positive

• Parking availability, whether real or perceived is a challenge many villages face

• Transportation has changed to be sensitive to the ebb & flow of all traffic in villages

  • There is a push towards multimodal awareness

• We have a lot of appeal in this region - Upstate NY is renowned for the character of it villages

• There is a need for a multidisciplinary approach towards planning & implementation

• Access Management (all aspects of moving people & goods) is important to everyone – not just transportation planners

  • Vehicular and non vehicular traffic is equally important!

• There is a need for the effective development and marketing of walkable communities with increased density and small retail centers

  • Walkability makes the relationship between people and the build environment friendly, interactive and accessible

  • Make village living viable for people to live, work and play

• Gateway development announces entrance – but we have to develop tools to keep them in village centers too

• Do not be afraid to embrace and maintain design to make villages unique

• Leaders/staff need help with regard to when to stand for the communities visions and when to compromise (ex. Eckerd drug stores)

• Circuit Riders could help promote and sustain Main Street development

• Effective signage can guide the adventure

• There is a need to balance being reactive and proactive

• Promote Intermunicipal agreements

• Vision is important

  • For funding

  • For community buy in

  • For project development & implementation

• Governor's Office for Small Cities

  • Communities need some idea of where they are going before asking for funding

  • Pick the right areas of villages for development

  • Give smaller municipalities similar examples (give rural villages rural examples, suburban villages suburban examples and urban villages urban examples)

  • There is a push to assist rural communities with low and moderate incomes

  • Technical assistance funding for main street projects

    • Main Street NY Program/Downtown Redevelopment - funding to local communities

• Office of Parks, Recreation & Historical Preservation Programs

  • National Register of Historic Places

  • Certified Local Government Program - Historic preservation programs for local governments

  • Federal tax credit program

  • Historical Preservation Bond Act grant program

  • Investment tax credit program

• NYSDOT

  • Community should have vision before DOT comes in

  • The work of DOT should support or enhance the existing village context

  • Diagonal parking is a problem

• Architecture

  • There is too much consideration of how traffic drives village – pedestrian traffic is also very important with regard to village centers

  • Renderings in a workshop setting could show the importance and influence of design

• Energy Efficiency

  • Two components - planning and implementation

  • Consider integrating energy efficiency codes in ordinances and before redeveloping

• Take today’s thoughts to our model communities

• Bring more people to the table to discuss Main Street

• Discuss the Main Street Transportation Tools study and similar studies at the Local Government Workshops.

• Explain access, design, revitalization to grass roots groups

  • Empower people with the information to be a part of the process

50 West Main Street, Suite 8107
Rochester, New York 14614
tel:  585.454.0190
fax:  585.454.0191

Last Modified:  May 01, 2007