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Planning & Zoning

Posted on: March 3, 2020

City Begins Process of Updating Comprehensive Plan

The City of Poughkeepsie is beginning the process of updating its Comprehensive Plan, something that hasn’t been undertaken in more than two decades.

The Comprehensive Plan will provide a vision for future growth and development in the city, and the public’s input will be sought as the blueprint is developed. Amendments to the City’s Zoning Code will be included in the project. The city hopes to simplify and reduce the number of Zoning Districts and modernize the regulations to address current and new development trends.

“There is so much activity going on in the City of Poughkeepsie,” Mayor Rob Rolison said. “The city is growing – and is poised to grow more – but we have to ensure that these changes occur in a responsible way. Updating the Comprehensive Plan is long overdue and will provide the city with clear guidance as we move forward.”

The City is seeking proposals from qualified and experienced planning consultants to prepare an update to the plan. Submissions are due March 27. Once a consultant is selected, an 18-month timeline will be created to bring the project to fruition. The project is partially funded through the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Climate Smart Communities grant program. Consequently, particular attention will be paid to the integration of sustainability elements within the Comprehensive Plan and development of metrics to track the success of its implementation.

During the past 20 years, the City of Poughkeepsie has engaged in a number of strategic planning efforts to target key areas across the city for revitalization. These areas include the waterfront transit-oriented development area surrounding the Poughkeepsie Train Station, the Walkway-Gateway District near the Walkway Over the Hudson, and most recently, the City’s downtown central business district and the Waterfront Revitalization Area.

City officials believe the time is ripe for Poughkeepsie to create one policy document to be a guide for the next 20 years.

City Planning Director Natalie Quinn, who will serve as the city’s Project Manager, said, “We are excited to take on this seminal planning exercise now that City Hall has reconstituted its internal planning team to lead the update. Working within DEC’s Climate Smart Communities framework is a great opportunity to ensure that the land use policies put into place guide Poughkeepsie towards a future that is environmentally, socially and fiscally sustainable.”

The City’s Comprehensive Plan was last updated in 1998, and it’s been over 40 years since the City’s Zoning Ordinance was comprehensively reviewed and updated.

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