COMPREHENSIVE  PLAN -- FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

                        These Frequently Asked Questions come from many people in Copake interested in this process and from source material about comprehensive planning. FAQs tell you what other people in Copake are thinking and what other people who have been through this process have thought about town planning. If you have a question, please give it to a CPC Committee member or send it to copake-org@fairpoint.net  and the CPC will do its best to provide an answer.

1. What is a comprehensive plan?

A comprehensive plan starts and continues our thinking about what Copake should “look and feel like” on its 200^th birthday and beyond into 2030. It provides guidelines for town, county and state elected and appointed officials as they decide on matters that affect Copake. The plan is comprehensive because it provides objectives, principles, policies and standards for:    

growth and development;

use of land for agriculture, business, homes, parks, government, and education facilities;

preservation and enhancement of historical and cultural resources;

health, safety and emergency facilities;

infrastructure;

recreation and recreation facilities;

hamlet revitalization;

improved economics, job retention and growth;

water, land and air protection and improvement;

helpful interaction with other municipalities;

and for programs, devices, instruments and constructs to implement all these.

A Comprehensive Plan is not a manual telling us exactly what to do in the future about all the items listed above. It is not a law. It is a plan. A common mistake is to confuse this plan with the Zoning Code, one of the items that will be reviewed along with many others following the adoption of the comprehensive plan.

2. Why does Copake need a Comprehensive Plan?

All 18 towns in Columbia County either have or are currently reviewing their comprehensive or master plans.  Although not required by NY State Consolidated Laws, it is strongly recommended by Section 272-a. A plan expresses the desires of the community about its future and provides a road map for getting there. It is, in brief, good governance. Public and private funding sources for some town projects require that the proposed project fit within the town’s comprehensive plan. Courts depend upon comprehensive plans as background to decide challenges to sections of a town’s code and to decisions by the Town’s Boards and Committees. Section 263 of NY State Law notes that “Such [Zoning] regulations shall be made in accordance with a comprehensive plan.”

3. Will my taxes go up because of this plan?

No, they will not go up because of this plan. Following approval of the Comprehensive Plan, reviews of aspects of the Town Code and associated matters are expected to occur. If the Town Board implements ideas in the Plan or ideas from the reviews following the Plan and the costs incurred are beyond what is available to us through grants, then that has budget implications.

4.    Why should the CPC conduct a town survey? Wasn’t this done 4-5 years ago?

Two surveys have been conducted in Copake; one in 2003 by the Economic Advisory Board and one in 2004 by the Strategic Planning Committee. The CPC reviewed these surveys and concluded that parts of them were dated. Both surveys tended to emphasize the present rather than the future. Most importantly, neither was comprehensive. Many of the topics listed in question 1 above were not included. Responses were limited to one per household. The CPC will attempt to limit responses to one per person.

5.   Are the meetings of the CPC closed to the public?

      No, they are not. The opposite is the case. Everyone is invited to all CPC’s            meetings which are announced on this website and held in the Town Hall on the second Tuesday and third Thursday of each month. Additional meetings can be expected on occasion.

6.  Basically, what is in a comprehensive plan?

      The plan focuses on three basic questions. First, where is Copake today? The plan describes the important aspects of Copake today: natural resources, roads and transportation, demographics and trends, history, environment, economics, culture, government, land use and other relevant factors. Second, what do we want Copake to look like in the future? Input will be collected from citizens, government officials, through a survey sent to all, from focus groups, town visioning meetings and others. Studies will be done on water resources; profiles will be developed on other aspects; consultants will be contacted as needed. Based on all this the committee will develop a vision of Copake's future and a set of goals to achieve that vision. Third, what are the steps needed to get there? The committee will develop a series of policies,       actions, strategies and plans that over time will achieve the vision Copake desires.

7.  What steps will be followed to provide Copake with a Comprehensive Plan?

First, the Town Board appoints a Comprehensive Planning Committee (CPC). Second, the CPC, together with consultants, collect information about Copake's past, present and its future possibilities. Information collection includes among other things, surveys, focus groups, workshops, review of the comprehensive plans of other towns,  studies (surface and groundwater, e.g.) and more. This Community Profile information is presented in an appendix to the plan.

Third, the CPC develops a first draft of a vision statement, goals and action    plan that is the basis for the Comprehensive Plan. This focuses on: who is Copake and what specific actions people want the Town to pursue over the next 15-20 years.

Fourth, the CPC holds one or more public meetings including a hands on  Action-Planning workshop (and other meetings as it deems necessary) to "assure opportunity for citizen participation in the preparation" of the plan.

 Fifth, the CPC, after incorporating the necessary changes from the public meetings, refers the draft Comprehensive Plan to the Town Planning Board for their review and recommendations.

Sixth, the CPC, after incorporating the necessary changes from the Planning Board refers the draft Comprehensive Plan to the Town Board for their review.

Seventh, "the Town Board shall, within ninety days of receiving the ... recommendations on such  plan...and prior to adoption of such plan, hold a public hearing on" the proposed plan.

Eighth, notice of the public hearing is given ten days in advance of the hearing and copies of the plan are made available in public places.

Ninth, prior to adoption, the Town Board by resolution shall refer the plan to the Columbia County Planning Board for review and recommendation (required by section 239-m of the general municipal law).

Tenth, the plan is subject to the provisions of the NY State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) under article 8 of the environmental conservation law. This required review by SEQRA runs simultaneously with Town and County review.

Eleventh, Copake's plan is "subject to the provisions of article 25-AA of the agricultural and markets law relating to the enactment and administration of local laws, ordinances, rules or regulations". This review of its compliance occurs simultaneously with Town and County review.

Twelfth, following input from all sources the Town Board may adopt the comprehensive plan by resolution.

Thirteenth, following adoption the plan "shall be filed in the office of the town clerk, and a copy thereof shall be filed in the office of the Columbia County Planning Agency". A copy will also be available on the town's website.

8. What is the relationship between zoning and the Comprehensive Plan?  Does the Plan change zoning?

The Comprehensive Plan itself does not change zoning. The plan focuses on broadly stated goals and guidelines for Copake's zoning and land use. Following the adoption of the Comprehensive Plan by the Town Board, a number of committees will be appointed to review and make recommendations to the Town Board on several aspects of the town code, including zoning. This review process does not focus on a single aspect of zoning. Rather it looks at the entire code and seeks to align it with the principles and goals stated in the Comprehensive Plan. For example, based on community input, the plan may recommend restrictions on some types of land use and reduce constraints on others.

9. Will the apparent conflict be addressed between the town and state definitions of agriculture?

This is difficult to answer without knowing the specifics of the question. However, the Town Code does note on page 232-14 that a "farm operation" is "a commercial enterprise as defined in § 301 (11) of the Agriculture and Markets Law of the State of New York as same is amended from time to time."  On page 232-89 the Town Code exempts from the SCOZ requirements agricultural activities and farms as defined in § 301 (11) of the Agriculture and Markets Law of the State of New York These mean that there is no general conflict. Perhaps a review of language used would be helpful.