Horicon residents to envision their town's future

BRANT LAKE | The Town of Horicon is embarking on an initiative to develop a new Comprehensive Plan, and local residents are now being sought to join others who have recently volunteered to serve on the committees that will steer the process. The Lake Champlain-Lake George Regional Planning Board is assisting the town in developing the plan. At a recent town board meeting, Allison Gaddy — a principal planner for the LCLGRPB — outlined the principles and process of developing a Comprehensive Plan for Horicon. She said that drafting a new Comprehensive Plan was important for the town, because the last one was adopted in 2010, and the issues confronting the town's residents have changed since then. "General guidelines suggest that a Comprehensive Plan should be updated at least every five to 10 years due to changing characteristics of the community," she said. A Comprehensive Plan, she added, serves as a decision-making guide for all town officials, whether they serve on the town board, the planning board, or the zoning board of appeals. In addition, with the membership of these boards changing over time, she said a Comprehensive Plan can provide guidance that extends over time, despite changes in board membership. "A Comprehensive Plan can provide continuity across changing leadership and town staffing," she said. "As you've seen tonight, someone who has served on the board for 26 years has retired, and you are losing that institutional knowledge — and a Comprehensive Plan is a document that can help you maintain continuity during those transition periods," Gaddy added, referring to Bob Olson who resigned from the Horicon Town Board in mid-June. Gaddy said Horicon's existing Comprehensive Plan cites the importance of preserving the small-town rural character of Horicon and the town's natural resources — and encouraging housing affordability and orderly development. "You might want to keep these (objectives) and add to them," she said. "But the way to (achieve) these goals may be a little different based on the changing dynamics of the community over the last 14 years." She said the process of developing the Comprehensive Plan starts with recruiting eight to 12 residents who represent "a broad cross-section of the community" to serve on the Comprehensive Plan steering committee. Horicon Town Supervisor Michael Geraci said July 7 that about eight or so people have already volunteered to serve, but if many more want to join the planning initiative, they could serve on one of the steering panel's subcommittees. These groups are likely to focus on such aspects as recreational assets, housing, zoning, and commercial development. He said people who seek to join the initiative should send him an email at: supervisor@horiconny.gov. In the last two weeks, people stepping forward to join the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee include representatives of the Brant Lake Association, the East Shore Schoon Lake Association, the North Warren Chamber of Commerce, and a local business. Geraci said the initial meeting of the steering committee is likely to be held in August. Gaddy said that one member of the planning board is required to serve on the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee by state law, but not more than two are allowed, she said. The committee is likely to meet every six to eight weeks during the first six months or so from its formation, then meet as needed from then through December 2026, when the Comprehensive Plan is expected to be finalized. Gaddy said she anticipated that the meetings will be held virtually as well as in-person. Then the group will conduct a community survey and interviews with key townspeople, and hold public workshops and open houses to hear suggestions. "We will hear from the community…about what residents love….what they'd like to fix….or see more of," Gaddy said. Then the committee will draft a vision statement, describing the changing local conditions as well as developing strategies for achieving the objectives in the document, she continued. Throughout the planning process, the steering committee's interaction with the public will help ensure the committee is "going in the right direction, accurately representing the community," she said. As Gaddy's presentation concluded, Geraci urged the 35 or so people attending the town meeting to consider volunteering to serve on one or more of the planning committees. "This (initiative) is of critical importance to us," he said. "It's not going to be a supervisor- or board-driven process."

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Horicon residents to envision their town's future

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