10/5/07 - Homer begins work on comprehensive plan

Residents say plan should focus on preserving village’s small-town atmosphere, architecture

(As Published by the Cortland Standard, Christine Laubenstein reporting)

Village residents want a small town atmosphere, architectural preservation and a more welcoming appearance at the village’s entrances as goals of a new comprehensive plan.

“The (Route) 281 strip should be cleaned up like they did in McLean,” said Judy Barbash Laure, a Burgett Drive resident.

Laure and approximately 40 village residents attended the first public planning session Wednesday for a new village comprehensive plan.

The meeting, which took place in the village’s Community Building behind the fire station, was the first of a series of public meetings on the plan. The village decided earlier this year it was time to replace its current comprehensive plan, which was adopted about 30 years ago.

An 11-person steering committee will base the comprehensive plan it eventually creates largely on public input, which will also come from a random survey of 500 residents.

The survey was sent out last month, and so far 46 percent of recipients have filled it out and returned it, said Ann Hotchkin, a program manager for Thoma Development Consultants, the Cortland-based company hired to oversee the comprehensive planning process and write the plan.

The village is paying Thoma Development $26,000 plus fees for supplies, copying and services up to $2,000 more.

At Wednesday’s meeting residents were asked by Hotchkin and Rich Cunningham, also a Thoma program manager, what they like best about their village and what they like least about it.

Many people were content with the state of the village.

Barry Ryan, a North Main Street resident, said he moved 3,000 miles to buy a house in Homer. He said he loves the architecture of the houses, their historic quality and the easy access to Interstate 81.

“Maybe the community doesn’t want any changes,” he suggested at the beginning of the meeting.

Others cited the Village Green, the village’s overall history, school district, Center for the Arts, green space, downtown business district, 24-hour village police coverage and small-town feel as village assets they would like to maintain.

Hotchkin said about 95 percent of people who’ve responded to the surveys so far noted the village’s small-town feel as one of the village’s most valuable assets.

I would like to see the County do something similar. Although you can't study 500 square miles, you can certainly look at County facilities, their location and needs, as well as their projected growth over the next 20 years.

And most importantly, if the County DOES in fact develop a comprehensive master plan, they need to follow through on it.