Comprehensive Plan Project

Overview

The Steuben County Legislature is excited to announce the commencement of the County’s inaugural Countywide Comprehensive Plan.  The Plan will serve as a roadmap for growth and development in Steuben County; establishing a unified vision for how the County will look and feel 15 years into the future.  A comprehensive plan is a strategic, countywide look at infrastructure, housing, economic development, County operations, and other elements of community development.  It will be used to shape future budgets, planning efforts, and to acquire state and federal funding to support priority projects.

As part of the planning effort, we will be calling on County residents and other stakeholders to actively participate in plan development.  Check this site often, and monitor our County Facebook page for information on how to be part of the process.

Community Profile and Existing Conditions (PDF)

Comprehensive Plan Project Foundations

Unified Vision

An aspirational but authentic picture of the ideal state of the County, fifteen to twenty years from right now, presuming that we execute plan elements. This is the place on the horizon that we are working toward.

Core Values/Planning Principles

These are the scoring criteria by which we will measure future projects and priorities. Core values determine how the County will conduct itself in its daily operations. As project proposals come forward, County legislators and staff will evaluate them based upon these criteria.

Key Initiatives/Strategies

These are significant policy areas on which we will focus to ensure that we are making progress toward our vision. These are the major areas of operation, that if focused upon, will result in the largest impacts in moving the County forward.

Near-Term Action Items

We will create a five-year action plan of critical “to-do” items necessary to affect our key initiatives, and ultimately our vision. Due to a constantly evolving landscape, we do not extend plans at this level beyond five years.

Each of these areas will be informed by three underlying pillars:

Public Engagement

We will involve the public in authentic, robust, and meaningful ways. We will offer a diverse set of opportunities for the public to engage, and will use the information gained in this effort to shape our approach.

Economic and Market Data

We will leverage reliable market data to demonstrate our current position and the distance we must travel to reach our goals.

Implementation Readiness

We will only put forward initiatives and projects for which the County has the interest and capacity to implement.

Schedule

Our approach can be refined by the County during the kickoff phase of the effort, and as such, certain dates below may be adjusted. This schedule is offered as a sample critical path to achieve the project scope, with final deliverables provided according to the prescribed timeline.

June, 2022: Initial Steering Committee Meeting

October, 2022: Inventory and Analysis Complete, Existing Conditions Analysis Released

February, 2023: Vision and Values Complete, Public Forum

July, 2023: Strategies and Key Initiatives Complete

September, 2023: Implementation Strategy Complete

October, 2023: Draft Plan Released, Final Public Forum

November, 2023: Draft Plan Refinement

December, 2023: Final Documents Delivered to County

Focused Initiative Areas

• Broadband
• Infrastructure (Water, Sewer, Electric, Gas, Roads and Bridges)
• Workforce Development
• Economic Development
• Housing
• Agriculture, Farmland Preservation, and Food Systems
• Transportation (Air, Rail, and Public Transit)
• Recreation, Parks, Trails, and Tourism
• Sustainability and Resilience

Have an item to share? Want to get Involved?

Feel free to contact Matt Horn, Director of Municipal Services, MRB Group by email

Steering Community Member List

• Chris Brewer, Deputy County Manager
• Jamie Johnson, County Economic Development
• Kelly Fitzpatrick, County Legislator
• Hilda Lando, County Legislator
• Mike Hanna, County Legislator
• Chelsea Robertson, Southern Tier Central
• Aaron Mullen, County Legislator
• Dan Kahabka, County Planning

Steering Committee Meeting Notes

• 6/10/22 Kickoff Meeting (PDF)
• 7/20/22 Committee Meeting (PDF)

Meeting Agendas

• 2/8/23 Committee Meeting (PDF)
• 3/22/23 Committee Meeting (PDF)
• 4/19/23 Committee Meeting (PDF)

Meeting Minutes

• 8/24/22 Committee Meeting (PDF)
• 9/21/22 Committee Meeting (PDF)
• 1/11/23 Committee Meeting (PDF)
• 2/8/23 Committee Meeting (PDF)
• 3/22/23 Committee Meeting (PDF)