Residents comment on Penn Yan plan

PENN YAN--The village of Penn Yan planning board held its first public hearing on the draft comprehensive plan Wednesday, Oct. 12 in the Penn Yan Middle School auditorium. Nearly 40 people attended the meeting, adding their comments and concerns with the plan. Some of these comments regarded areas like gateways, small businesses and how to work with the plans of other nearby towns and villages to meet a common vision. The planning board later recommended sending the draft proposal to the village board for consideration, who will hold another public hearing prior to final approval.
John Steinmetz and Molly Gaudioso from the Steinmetz Planning Group gave the crowd an overview of the plan, noting its history, purpose and what visions it outlines for the village through the year 2025. Planning Board Chairman Cliff Orr said work on the new comprehensive plan began in 2014 and included details from several public information sessions as well as elements of the Vision 2020 plan. Steinmetz said the new draft plan was an evolution of the village's previous comprehensive plan and did not throw out what was desired beforehand, but rather updated it to changing conditions. The plan highlights the top five priorities for the village going into 2025, which include filling vacancies in the downtown area and fostering additional employment opportunities. The goals also include attracting additional commercial and retail development, improving the appearance of downtown and preserving and rehabilitating historic buildings.
After the presentation, the group heard comments from the crowd, which also included several residents from outside the village. One resident complimented the work that has been done on the plan, saying the outlet and trail could eventually become something similar to the San Antonio River Walk in Texas. Orr said there has been quite a lot of progress along the outlet waterfront from the old plan. One of the difficulties with some of the proposals for the outlet mentioned, however, included the fact that some of the land along it is privately owned.
Another resident noted the desire to protect the rural character of the area, mentioning the need to protect and upgrade the gateways into the village from other areas. Director of Public Works Brent Bodine said the village is working on developing more of a relationship with the state Department of Transportation (DOT) so they can work on the corridors along the state roads into and out of the village.
The crowd also brought up concerns with how the Penn Yan plan coincides with what other towns and villages want to do. Orr said the village has no authority to change what the towns do. He said they have previously asked the county to consider a countywide master plan to give the area more of a common vision, but indicated there was not much interest in such a thing.
One area business owner said there could be some improvements to make things easier for new businesses to get started in Penn Yan. She said if she did not have her father's help, she would not have known where to start as far as who to contact. The board members said perhaps they could update the village website to include more information and contacts for those who are interested in starting a business in the area.