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Home My WebLink About01 - Chapter 1 - Introduction, Vison & GoalsPlan Rye Brook Chapter 1: Introduction, Vision and Goals 1 1. INTRODUCTION, VISION AND GOALS 1.1 Study Background and Process In the fall of 2012, the Village of Rye Brook began the process of preparing its first-ever Comprehensive Plan. Although the Village has a long history of planning, covering a wide range of specific topics, it never before had in place a master planning document to guide future decisions on development, zoning and capital spending. The primary goal of the Rye Brook Comprehensive Plan is to maintain and improve the overall quality of life for village residents by: 1. Promoting sustainable development; 2. Encouraging a stable and enduring economic base; 3. Providing for safety, health and education; 4. Preserving the natural, cultural, recreational and historic assets of Rye Brook; 5. Enhancing the design of the built and natural environment; and 6. Advocating for smart-growth design principles in the planning process. This Comprehensive Plan will build on prior planning efforts and establish a policy guide for land use within the village. The Plan also represents the culmination of a unique and innovative partnership with the Westchester County Department of Planning, which completed in May 2012 an extensive report, Village of Rye Brook Planning Base Studies: A Detailed Study of Existing Conditions, in a pilot project to demonstrate how County and municipal planning documents can inform and support each other. This report – together with the prior Village planning studies – forms a baseline for the comprehensive planning effort. New York State municipal law provides that the Village Board may prepare a comprehensive plan with the assistance of a special board. Accordingly, in 2013, the Village Board appointed a 12-member advisory committee representing a broad range of interests in the village. This committee met regularly over the course of the one-year planning process, provided guidance and direction in the drafting of this Plan and hosted a total of four community visioning sessions to collect and incorporate vital public input. The concluding Future Land Use Plan and Implementation sections of this Plan incorporate the village’s essential characteristics and future goals addressed in the following chapter topics: Regional Context; Demographics and Growth Trends; Land Use and Zoning; Natural Resources and Stormwater Management; Parks, Recreation and Open Space; Transportation; Infrastructure and Utilities; Housing and Residential Development; Large-Scale Commercial Development; Commercial Center; and Municipal Facilities and Community Character. The final piece of the Plan is an Action Agenda that is both part of the document and can also be used as a stand- alone to-do list for the Village Board. Plan Rye Brook Chapter 1: Introduction, Vision and Goals 2 1.2 Public Participation In undertaking the creation of a Rye Brook comprehensive plan, a major focus for the Village was that the process be as open, transparent and engaging of the community as possible. Public participation was identified early on as essential for the development of a successful Plan, and a variety of outreach methods were utilized to reach stakeholders from a broad spectrum of the community, as follows: Project Branding To capture the interest of these stakeholders, the project team created a name and a brand for the comprehensive planning process: Plan Rye Brook. Major elements of the brand included a consistent color palette, font and style of layout that could be used for all publicity materials and project deliverables. The idea was to create a name and project image that would be instantly recognizable and visually appealing, and that would convey qualities that make the village unique and distinguish it from its neighbors. Project Website A stand-alone project website was created and regularly updated to disseminate the latest study developments, including public meeting announcements, newsletters, summaries of past meetings, project team contact information and draft deliverables. The site also incorporated a feature allowing users to sign up to receive email updates of website changes and project milestones. Public Survey Attending public meetings is difficult for people with many constraints on their time, including work, family and social obligations. Because of this, there are generally only specific segments of the population who attend public visioning sessions – namely those who are deeply civic-minded or those with a specific issue of concern. Therefore, an online survey was used to further inform the visioning process by allowing the project team to gain insights into the opinions of the portion of the population who may not be reached by traditional outreach methods. The survey was available from mid-August through September of 2013, and was completed by approximately 860 people, whose responses to the variety of questions were integral in drafting the Plan chapters. A summary of the survey results is found in the Appendix. Public Visioning Sessions As noted, four public workshops were held as part of this comprehensive planning process. The first public workshop was held on June 10, 2013, at the Village of Rye Brook offices to introduce the project and gather public comments and suggestions for several key areas of focus: land use and zoning; the commercial center; and the environment, Plan Rye Brook Chapter 1: Introduction, Vision and Goals 3 open space and sustainability. Three additional workshops were held on October 28, 2013; January 13, 2014; and March 24, 2014, to discuss ideas and concepts in additional Plan chapters. Recommendations from these sessions have been reviewed and appropriately integrated into this document. The four workshops are summarized in the Appendix. Other Public Outreach In addition to the above public participation efforts, the Village employed a range of targeted measures to get the word out about the comprehensive plan, including hosting a table at the annual Rye Brook Birthday Party in Crawford Park in June 2013; event flyers; email blasts; press releases to local press; and posting of a sign at the Rye Ridge shopping center. 1.3 Previous Village Planning Efforts While Rye Brook has not previously prepared or adopted a village-wide comprehensive plan, over the years it has undertaken a number of planning studies, many of which contain specific recommendations that have since been implemented. These studies form a background for this Plan, and descriptions of many are found in the Westchester County Planning Base Studies report.  Hawthorne Avenue Land Use and Zoning Analysis (March 1994)  Byram Ridge Zoning Study (July 1994)  Rye Brook Vision Plan (December 2000, not formally adopted by the Village Board)  Stormwater Analysis, East Branch Blind Brook (November 2002)  Residential Bulk Regulations Study (August 2003)  Conservation Easement Study (February 2004)  Large Lot Subdivision Study (March 2004)  Vision Plan Implementation Task Force Report of Findings (August 2004)  Lincoln Avenue Property Analysis and Report (January 2005)  Scenic Roads Overlay District Study (April 2005)  King Street Traffic Study (April 2005)  Byram Ridge Task Force Report of Findings (June 2006)  Hazard Mitigation Plan (June 2007)  Pavement Management Study (November 2007)  Flood Mitigation Study, Bowman Avenue Dam Site (March 2008)  Blind Brook Watershed Management Plan (March 2009)  Open Space Zone Study (October 2010)  Affordable Housing Discussion Paper (January 2011) Plan Rye Brook Chapter 1: Introduction, Vision and Goals 4 1.4 Vision, Goals and Policies Vision Statement: The future of the Village of Rye Brook shall be one that strives to maintain and enhance the quality of life of its residents, businesses, interest groups and future generations based on a community consensus that establishes and strengthens the village’s distinct identity while working with neighboring communities to achieve desired or shared goals. Built Environment 1. Goal: Preserve character of residential neighborhoods. Policy: Maintain the quality and preserve the character of residential structures. 2. Goal: Enhance sense of community through changes in the built environment. Policy: Minimize activities that create significant adverse impacts to the quality of life in residential neighborhoods. Policy: Promote a diversity of housing choices for both current and prospective residents. Policy: Preserve and enhance the visual character of the village’s major roadways. Policy: Enhance community identity by creating community focal points. Policy: Enhance community identity through the redevelopment and enhancement of existing commercial areas to create a Village Center Natural Environment 1. Goal: Preserve the remaining open space character. Policy: Preserve the character of the remaining under‐ or undeveloped properties in the village. Policy: Preserve and enhance significant open space vistas and other visual resources important to the community. 2. Goal: Maintain and improve the quality of the Blind Brook and the Long Island Sound watershed. Policy: Address stormwater management from a regional and village‐wide perspective to reduce flooding impacts. Policy: Reduce sources of non‐point pollution and preserve environmental resources in the Blind Brook and Long Island Sound watershed. Policy: Improve access to and raise awareness of the Blind Brook. 3. Goal: Promote environmental stewardship. Policy: Encourage sustainable development by adopting changes, as appropriate, to the Village’s zoning and building codes. Plan Rye Brook Chapter 1: Introduction, Vision and Goals 5 Mobility 1. Goal: Improve traffic circulation while minimizing impacts on the environment and community character. Policy: Actively participate in regional transportation planning efforts by governmental agencies such as the New York State and Westchester County departments of transportation and the New York Metropolitan Transportation Council. Policy: Identify roadway improvements that enhance vehicle safety and improve traffic circulation using planning and engineering best practices. Policy: Encourage development that capitalizes on existing transit resources. 2. Goal: Increase and promote viable alternatives to automobile travel. Policy: Promote strategies that increase bicycle and mass transit use. Policy: Improve pedestrian safety and increase pedestrian circulation opportunities, particularly in the commercial center. Community Resources 1. Goal: Enhance the quality and availability of community services, while respecting limited resources. Policy: Promote community identity through enhanced services, facilities and other community resources. Policy: Cost‐effectively improve and increase parks and other community services and facilities. Policy: Explore opportunities for enhanced provision of community resources through cost sharing with neighboring municipalities, as appropriate. Plan Rye Brook Chapter 1: Introduction, Vision and Goals 6