The process of imagining an improved Glen Cove has continued since the Comprehensive Plan Public Workshop on June 29.
The Comprehensive Plan, funded by the New York State Smart Growth Comprehensive Planning grant program and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Climate Smart Communities grant program, a total of $150,000, plus a $50,000 match to the Smart Growth program and a $50,000 in-kind contribution to the DEC program from the city, is a long-range policy document for the city that provides goals and recommendations for future development, land use, infrastructure and service. It is not zoning regulations or a budget. This is the first time the Comprehensive Plan has been updated since 2009.
Ann Fangmann, the executive director of the Glen Cove Community Development Agency and the Industrial Development Agency, explained that the state, every year, releases what is known as a consolidated funding application and in 2021, the city and the CDA sent applications to the state DEC and the Department of State for a Comprehensive Plan.
“The city was successful in getting funded for both of those programs that we put in for,” Fangmann said. “I think we’ve been saying for years that we were in need of a Comprehensive Plan… There has been quite a bit of growth and development in the city since the plan was last adopted in 2009 and it felt like the time was right to obtain funding for an update.”
The plan is being prepared by consulting firm Bfj Planning, which also provides environmental consulting services. The firm is working alongside a Core Working Group, consisting of 12 members who represent Glen Cove residents, a Comprehensive Planning Committee, composed of 52 local leaders, and sub-consultants Urbanomics, MatrixNewWorld and CSA & KB Engineering.
A draft of the Comprehensive Plan has been informed through a public survey, interviews with stakeholders such as local zoning and development boards, local business organizations, local utility providers, community facilities, environmental groups and local parks and recreation departments, and a meeting with the Inter-Agency Council and the Glen Cove Senior Center.
“Our consultants are reviewing every aspect of city life, from interchanges to recreation to drinking water to infrastructure,“ Fangmann said.
Chapters of the draft plan, which are available online, cover topics such as history and regional context, demographics and housing, land use and zoning, transportation and mobility, downtown and economic development, natural resources, climate change and resilience, infrastructure and utilities and community facilities.
On Jan. 30, another Public Workshop was held to update the community and receive feedback.
“I really feel that the evening was very productive,” said City of Glen Cove Mayor Pam Panzenbeck about the Jan. 30 public workshop. “We’re very happy with the firm that we hired [Bfj Planning] to do the Comprehensive Plan because they set out a timeline from the get-go and they have stuck to it beautifully.”
Panzenback added that the Comprehensive Plan, once adopted, will belong to the City of Glen Cove.
While Bfj Planning is making recommendations, the Glen Cove City Council will have the opportunity to review it and make changes.
The public survey, which was offered to residents online and in print format at locations around the city from Nov. 15 to Dec. 22, displayed that some of Glen Cove’s greatest weaknesses are downtown offerings, taxes and cost of living. However, Glen Cove residents saw their city’s strengths in their parks and beaches, quality of life and first responders.
“None of those responses were of any surprise to us,” Panzenbeck said, adding that there is a conflict when it comes to the public not wanting more apartments but wanting more affordable and senior housing.
As the State Environmental Quality Review and the final version of the Comprehensive Plan are finished, there will be a hearing in front of the Glen Cove City Council in April. The plan will be adopted in June.
“The plan sets forth a framework and then it’s up to the city to implement that framework at a later date once adopted,” Fangmann said.
To learn more about the Comprehensive Plan, visit glencovecomprehensiveplan.com.
