MasterPlanNOW
Tuesday, January 20. 2015
Editor’s Note: NCNOW has trimmed down. The town itself does a fine job as a community bulletin board, pushing out notices and announcements, so NCNOW will concentrate strictly on keeping track of the Master Plan process.
Supervisor Rob Greenstein reported two weeks ago that the Master Plan process is alive and well, but it hasn’t been well at all. The process has been not-started, then false-started, restarted, derailed by the supervisor, then bypassed for Chappaqua Crossing—and possibly for Rosehill—and is now supposedly back on track.
It’s had no-money, some money for an outreach by Pace, more money for a survey, a canceled (or postponed) survey, money for a consultant (Pace) to pick up where Pace left off. Tonight Pace will speak to Town Board members as well as Master Plan Steering Committee members about what comes next—and whether or how the “transit-oriented development” on town-owned property supported by the supervisor will be included in the Master Plan review. Below is the video of Pace’s presentation of January 20, 2015:
Master Plan Update – PACE Land Use Center 1/20/15 from New Castle Media Center on Vimeo.
Below are the elements of updating the New Castle Master Plan, to date. We are hoping to complete the update by October, 2015.
• October 2012- Town Request to the Westchester County Department of Planning to Develop the Town’s Background Studies
• December 2012- Westchester County Confirmation that they will develop New Castle’s Background Studies
• March 19, 2013 Master Plan Steering Committee begins to meet monthly (Steering Committee Meetings held on 3/19/13, 4/9/13, 4/21/13, 5/6/13, 6/18/13, 7/9/13, 7/25/13, 8/8/13, 12/8/13, 3/4/14, 4/1/14, and 6/24/14.
• May 6, 2013- Town Visioning Meeting (approximately 20 public participants)
• June 2013- Town Board Resolution appointing members of the Master Plan Steering Committee.
• July 30, 2013- MindMixer (Social Media, LLC.) services engaged
• October 2013- Request for Work Group participants
• December 2013- Mindmixer (Social Media, LLC.) services cancelled
• December 2013- Westchester County delivered draft background studies
• January 2014- Master Plan Steering Committee review of Draft Westchester County Background Studies.
• March 2014- Pace Land Use Law Center Outreach Program contract approved
• April 2014- Pace worked with staff and MPSC to prepare for planned public meetings
• April 2014- MPSC members began working with their work groups to assess Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (“SWOT” Analysis) of the 1989 Town Development Plan.
• May 2014- June 2014- Outreach Workshops Held
• July 2014- Final edits to Background Studies submitted to Westchester County.
• August 2014- Pace LULC Outreach Report released
CONTINUED
CONTINUED
• August 2014- PSB survey services contract approved
• October 2014- Master Plan Steering Committee request to delay PSB survey until after goals and objectives have been formed (Winter/Spring 2015)
• October 2014- Master Plan Steering Committee review of RFP for Master Plan Consultant to facilitate Steering Committee and compile draft plan.
• November 2014- RFP issued
• December 2014- MPSC representatives met with Town Planner to review response to RFP and issued memo regarding preferred consultant.
• January 2015- Town Board approved Pace University Land Use Law Center as Master Plan Consultant.
The Town needs to concentrate on extending the sale of water coming out of the New castle Water Department to offset the overall cost to the residents. This requires the expansion of underground water pipes servicing new properties to the system. They need to reactivate the efforts coming from Michael Kaplowitz to get more areas of New Castle serviced by a sewer line, and on this front a call needs to be placed into Terrence Murphy NYS Senator. We need to identify utility poles that should be placed underground. Lastly, we need to fix various roadways throughout New Castle by creating better lines of sight. We need to repopulate many parts of New Castle with trees, and install sidewalks where they make sense. We also need to create new Parks and recreational fields. After we do all of this, then we can discuss matters of a site plan. It will only be at this point that we will know where we can turn on a faucet and flush a toilet all at the same time. New Castle needs to work on the basics before we need to raise taxes just to address our basic requirements. Please direct the taxpayers funds at working on achieving the basic requirements as discussed over the past 20 plus years. We need a panel of people to solicit NYS, West. County, and all other politicians who can prove that they can get movement on these topics in New Castle. All this talk of a master plan is distracting. How can Rob Astorino help New Castle expand its infra structure? What can Gov. Cuomo enact to get New Castle going on such efforts; any money available for such ideas? We need to put heavy yellow Catipillar equipment to work in New Castle.
the last full edition of NewCastleNow was the one reporting that the town board , by 4-1 vote, approved retail at Chapp Crossing.
It should be noted that the town board did an amazing job negotiating with Summit Greenfield and got $millions$ in additional concessions for ALL of us. SG will pay the town $1.8million to be used for downtown / Millwood improvements. SG is giving us a fully functional outstanding auditorium on the grounds at CC. It can be used for a multitude of town/ community events. SG is giving the town 4 parcels of land on Roaring Brook that will be used as additional buffer. SG will give the town / school $600k for Greeley entrance improvements. All in these are worth $8-10 million.
It’s an interesting “coincidence” that in the future NewCastleNow will only be reporting on the master plan.
Christine, I’m happy to see than NCNow will continue, even in a trimmed down form. You provide a very valuable service to the community, and I want you to know that I, at least, appreciate it. I hope that when you decide to “retire,” someone else will take the baton from you. In the meantime, I look forward to your reporting on the master plan.
It is a shame that you will no longer provide residents with this forum. It was a valuable service and your hard work was always appreciated, even when there was disagreement. The Town Supervisor has managed to put you out. What a travesty. Now he controls all the information we get. Bad for New Castle.
