Long Range Planning Committee reviews master-plan matrix, NRI and advisory-board procedures

Members used the meeting to walk through the planning matrix and reported several ongoing efforts: the Natural Resources Inventory (NRI) was completed and will inform the Open Space Plan; the parks and recreation master plan is underway and expected to shape trail and connectivity projects; and the zoning-reform committee is working on form-based code and commercial design standards with county support.

Committee members discussed Greenway and AOC (area of concern) projects along the Niagara River, coordinated signage efforts, and the need to link planning work across neighboring towns. Traffic and complete-streets topics surfaced, including a Whitehaven/Baseline parking proposal that has been referred to county DOT for study.

A lengthy portion of the meeting focused on advisory-board procedures. Members raised recurring problems: advisory recommendations sometimes do not reach or are not acted on by the town board; projects that sleep for years can create changed conditions that should trigger re-circulation; and liaison reporting and standardized triggers for re-review (e.g., major design changes, time elapsed, new traffic or environmental impacts) should be codified. Several members offered to draft streamlined procedures and a short checklist of project “triggers” to ensure consistent circulation to planning, conservation and other advisory bodies.

The committee also reviewed emergency-management coordination, including the town’s alert/text system and Red Cross asset staging, and flagged a specific shoreline restoration item at Cox Road that engineering will shepherd through a mitigation plan and LWRP/DEC review.

The session closed with volunteers and staff agreeing to produce target timelines for matrix items (several noted 2026 milestones) and to reconvene subgroups on advisory-board process improvements.