Saranac Lake Receives Updated Comprehensive Plan Draft

A new Comprehensive vision for the future of Saranac Lake is presented to the board at their regular meeting on Tuesday Night.. The Document is intended to outline research, and input from the community to highlight future goals and objectives..

The Village of Saranac Lake represents a unique blend of heritage, setting and most importantly people coming together resulting in a remarkably pleasing and attractive sense of community. That’s what it’s all about after-all, a comprehensive plan should look at who we are as a community and in the Village of Saranac Lake, Trustee Paul Van Cott introduces a final draft of the plan to the village’s board members at their Tuesday Meeting..

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Saranac Lake Village Trustee Paul VanCott at Tuesday’s Village Board Meeting

From the Plan we begin to understand The Village’s historic image as a “healing community” which comes from the natural environment in which it exists and thrives. And those characteristics of this environment which include dramatic topography both within and surrounding the Village, extensive wilderness and forest lands.

Saranac Lake after all is quintessentially  a “small-town” according to the plan, and it’s attractive downtown is a key element to the character of the Village. Trustee Elias Pellitiere thanks all of the citizens who came to the meetings and put their time into it and helped to shape the future of our community.. Pellitiere says there is a reason why the draft has taken so long..

The Plan’s vision for the future is positive and it seeks to build on the people of Saranac Lake. Their hardworking yet engaging and friendly nature is a direct result of the physical qualities of the setting in which the Village is located.

Some of the goals include working to invigorate underutilized buildings and filling vacant properties, strengthening the connection to the natural setting, focus on neighborhoods surrounding the downtown and help them to become more vibrant and to develop a

local land use code that serves to manage and guide community development in a manner that conserves the unique qualities of the natural and built landscape while encouraging prudent and properly scaled growth. The Plan’s outcomes when considered in their entirety constitute a holistic vision for the Village of Saranac Lake and the comprehensive plan is the document that hopes to provide the means to effectuate this vision.

Public Hearings are scheduled for November 27^th at 7pm and then on the 28^th at 3pm and at 7pm to gather public comment on the plan. Copies of the plan are available at the Village Offices and We’ve posted a full copy of the Comprehensive Plan on our website at WNBZ.com.. Saranac Lake Comprehensive Plan Update –

V Saranac Lake Comprehensive Plan Nov 2012 Draft

The Vision for the future;

• The community will build upon its heritage as a healing community and embrace

its identity as a healthy community through continued support and expansion of

outdoor recreation and strengthening the presence of bio-technology companies;

• Well-planned future development will be aggressively pursued and will serve to

fill vacant properties and invigorate underutilized buildings;

• The Village will seek to strengthen its connection to the natural setting that

envelopes the community through increased contact and linkages to the abundant

natural resources (i.e. hiking and bicycle pathways; river and stream corridors; cross

country and downhill ski trails);

• The function of the downtown as the Village core will be enhanced through

maximum utilization of the existing building stock as locations for businesses,

residences, private and public service providers to prosper and meet the needs of

residents not only from the Village but across the wider region;

• A center for the fi ne arts and locally crafted goods that exemplify the skills and

cultural depth of the artisans and craftsmen that have made the Village their home

will be fostered;

• The neighborhoods encircling the downtown will continue to provide an attractive

and charming, small town quality for residents of all income levels while the

rehabilitative needs of those homes that have fallen into disrepair are met;

• Visitors to the Village will fi nd a genuine community, and a richly diversifi ed

destination during their stay: Including abundant recreational pursuits, cultural

enrichment, stimulating activities, relaxing lodging and fi ne dining;

• The Village government will provide needed services and suitable infrastructure in

an effi cient manner and in support of the day-to-day needs of residents and local

business;

• Furthermore, the Village government will administer a local land use code that

serves to manage and guide community development in a manner that conserves the

unique qualities of the natural and built landscape while encouraging prudent and

properly scaled growth.

These outcomes when considered in their entirety constitute a holistic vision for the

Village ofSaranacLakeand the means to effectuate this vision is embodied in the

Comprehensive Plan that follows.

This entry was posted on November 15, 2012 at 6:55 am and is filed under ! Local News, - Environment, - Politics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.