Comprehensive Plan
Genoa Comprehensive Plan Committee Sponsors Agriculture in Genoa speaker event
From what are we protecting agriculture?
Development, residential, commercial or what?
"You have to identify those things and tailor your strategic actions. Classic tools are comprehensive plans, zoning laws, subdivision laws and site plans. More advanced methods include Right to Farm laws, PDRs, transfer rights, lease and development rights, agricultural districts, property taxes, CIPs (Capital Improvement Plans—water lines, for example) and infrastructure."
Click here for the full panel discussion notes.
Nearly 50 people took advantage of the opportunity to attend a panel discussion focused on agriculture in Genoa on Thursday, January 14, 2010. Hosted by the Town of Genoa Comprehensive Plan Committee, the event was designed to reach out to residents of Genoa in order to provide current information and encourage feedback on agriculture.
The panel represented a variety of agribusiness and public sector organizations related to farming. The panel consisted of Jason Cuddeback and John Fraser from the Cayuga County Soil and Water Conservation District, Chuck Kyle, President of the Cayuga County Farm Bureau, Geoff Milz of Cayuga County Planning and Economic Development and Judy Wright, farmland protection consultant.
Among the topics of discussion were agricultural Best Management Practices and farm management plans, pollution, compliance inspections and complaint procedures, an overview of the Farm Bureau, farmland protection including concepts such as "Forever Farms," the economic impact of agriculture and government initiatives to preserve it.
The audience came with a wide range of interests and questions and comments included concerns about the continued economic viability of farming in a climate of rising land costs, water pollution, foreign labor utilized on large dairy operations, laws governing the ownership of animals, and the belief that farming adds to the quality of life in Genoa.
The largest part of Genoa's economy, agriculture accounts for 73% of the Town's land use and panelists described the area's soils as some of the most productive and intensively farmed in New York State. It is important that the Genoa Comprehensive Plan reflects the importance of farming and the input of Genoa residents is vital to that effort. The Committee plans to host other speaker events and information sessions within the next two to three months on various topics. Please watch for advertised announcements or visit www.co.cayuga.ny.us/genoa/comp_plan.html for upcoming event information.
Comprehensive Plan meetings are held at the Genoa Town Hall, 1000 Bartnick Road, Genoa on the second Monday of each month at 7pm. Please feel free to email comments and information that you feel are important to the development of the Comprehensive Plan to Karin Wikoff, Comprehensive Planning Committee Secretary, at kwikoff@thumpernet.com. (Please include your full name.)
Town of Genoa Comprehensive Plan
A Comprehensive Plan is a document that identifies and incorporates the issues and values that are important to a community.
- Future Vision: It may be a vision of what the citizens of a community want it to be in the future.
- Government Guidance: It is a policy framework which provides guidance to local government when they make our laws and regulations.
- Preserving the Good: It may be used to identify things that should be preserved for future generations.
- Grant Qualification: Many grants, programs and other opportunities require that a community have a comprehensive plan in place.
Citizens of Genoa - the Town of Genoa Comprehensive Planning Committee is charged with preparing just such a plan. But in order to complete this job, we need input from the community. We need you to voice your visions, concerns and interests in the future of the Town of Genoa, which will become the foundation of the Comprehensive Plan.
The Inventory Subcommittee has the special task of gathering information on who and what Genoa is right now—demographics, services, resources—everything from how many people and how many miles of highway, to what kinds of churches, businesses and schools make up Genoa. This information can help identify things we would like to develop, preserve or improve upon.
Documents related to our work are available here and at the Hazard Public Library. Meetings are open and Town of Genoa residents are encouraged to contribute ideas and information at any time. Please feel free to email comments and information that you feel are important to the development of the Comprehensive Plan to Karin Wikoff at kwikoff@thumpernet.com; please send feedback on the use of the website to Susan Tosto at susan.tosto@gmail.com. Kindly include your name.
The Comprehensive Plan is the voice of our shared future – make sure your voice is heard by joining together as a community to express your ideas and values.
Meetings are held at 7pm on the 2nd Monday of each month
Genoa Town Hall
1000 Bartnick Rd.
Genoa
Town of Genoa Comprehensive Plan Update
As seen in the Genoa-King Ferry Tribune, Volume 22, Number 3, Fall — September 23, 2009
An involved group of Town of Genoa residents has been working since February of 2008 to update and refine the town's comprehensive plan which was created in 1987. "The original comprehensive plan was a very basic document", says Peggy Bradley, Town of Genoa Council member, "it was not designed to address the kinds of challenges communities often face today."
A Comprehensive Plan, roughly defined, is a document that describes the needs, goals and visions of the citizenry of a town and formulates strategies to meet those visions, needs and goals. The job of the Comprehensive Plan Committee is to identify the priorities of various groups, balance competing interests and develop a plan that can be used to guide policy according to those interests. The comprehensive plan, properly created, becomes the most direct route between the inspiration of a community and its local government.
In the summer of 2008, a survey was mailed to approximately 300 households in the Town of Genoa, asking for their input regarding the future of the town. The results of that survey highlighted some of the issues and concerns that will form the structure of the comprehensive plan. Among them were: promotion of a variety of healthy and sustainable agriculture practices, preserving the Town's rural character, protection and preservation of wetlands, ponds, and wooded areas, improvement of hamlet centers, improvement of schools and expansion of educational opportunities, development of tourism, protection of farmland from commercial or housing development, attracting new commercial development, encouraging the development of a variety of housing types and improving services such as internet connectivity. While this feedback was a great start, the committee has decided to create a second survey that is more focused and specific to the responses that came in.
In addition, the committee has been gathering data on things like population, land use, highways, and water quality. They have scheduled meetings with a number of groups and individuals including the historical society, the water department, fire and ambulance services, conservation groups, the highway department, farmers, educators and business owners. They have added a webpage to the Town of Genoa website where minutes from meetings and updates can be found. They staffed a table at the Wheat Festival to talk to residents about their progress on the plan. They have collected maps, satellite photos and census data and plan to host an "Open House" meeting later this fall to share all that has been gathered and to ask town residents for more ideas and comments.
At present, meetings of the Comprehensive Plan Committee are held on the second Monday of each month at 7pm in the Genoa Town Hall at 1000 Bartnick Rd. Materials related to plan creation and meeting minutes are available on the website (http://www.cayugacounty.us/genoa/comp_plan.html) and at the Hazard Public Library. Meetings are open and input from Town of Genoa residents is vital to the process. Citizens are encouraged to contribute ideas and information at any time. And, please feel free to email comments and information that you feel are important to the development of the Comprehensive Plan to Karin Wikoff, Comprehensive Planning Committee Secretary at kwikoff@thumpernet.com. (Please include your full name.)