Milan residents can have say on growth plan
By Rasheed Oluwa Poughkeepsie Journal April 13 , 2005

MILAN -- Milan officials are calling on town residents to provide the final pieces of input for the town's comprehensive plan.
Tonight, the town hall will be the site of the first of two public hearings on the final comprehensive plan. The draft was submitted to the town board last month.
''We want the public to come and speak on the record to see what kind of reaction they have,'' Milan Supervisor John Van Talmage said. ''Subsequent to that, the comprehensive plan group will make revisions and then the town board will decide whether they want to keep it or not.''
About a year ago, the the town board created the Comprehensive Plan Special Review Board to update the town's comprehensive plan. A comprehensive plan is a document that gives a municipality guidance in handling growth and development.
The town's comprehensive plan was crafted in 1986. There was an effort in 2000 to update the plan, but it never took off.
Ross Williams, chairman of the comprehensive plan review board, said the draft incorporates many of the ideals expressed by town residents throughout the process.
''Cleary, the main thing that the citizens of Milan have told us is important to them is that they want to keep Milan rural,'' Williams said. ''Whether it be through zoning changes or regulations that deal with environmental matters, everybody supports the theme of keeping Milan rural.''
The draft comprehensive plan calls for the town to make the Lafayetteville and Rock City areas priority growth areas. This would allow those areas to take on a greater mix of residential and commercial structures and hopefully revitalize those areas, officials have said.
Higher-density areas
The draft also calls for the designation of some areas in the town as planned purpose developments. It would essentially designate areas for higher density residential development. Such developments would only be allowed through town board approval on a case-by-case basis.
Williams said the planned purpose developments would also better accommodate senior housing and the creation of traditional walking neighborhoods.
''There are some significant changes that will be proposed for zoning regulations and zoning alterations that will take the town in some different directions,'' Williams said

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Rasheed Oluwa can be reached at roluwa@poughkeepsiejournal.com

MEETINGS SET There will be two public hearings on the comprehensive plan at the Milan town hall this week. The first meeting will take place today and will begin at 7 p.m. Saturday's meeting begins at 10 a.m.
A copy of the town's draft comprehensive plan is available on the town Web site at www.milan-ny.gov
For information, contact Milan town hall at 845-758-5133 ext. 26.

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