T-burg Comprehensive Plan revision moves forward despite pandemic

Two years ago, the Village of Trumansburg Comprehensive Plan and Zoning Revision Committee began the process of updating the village’s existing Comprehensive Plan, adopted in 2008. While COVID-19 threatened to throw a wrench in what has been a rather smooth process since then, the committee has risen to the challenge, and residents are taking notice.

The new Comprehensive Plan vision statement outlines a few key tenets: promoting diversity inclusion, maintaining the small-town atmosphere of the village, supporting local businesses and being economically sustainable and fiscally responsible, according to Ben Darfler, village trustee and chair of the revision committee.

The latest step in the revision process (full schedule available at trumansburg-ny.gov/zoning-revision-committee) was surveying the community to help determine what the first draft of the new Comprehensive Plan would look like. The first community survey was in the fall, and input from that round helped the committee build an outline for the plan.

The second survey was much more detailed, Darfler explained, focusing on the key actions and goals people want the committee to focus on.

“We’re bringing that in to help us flesh out those goals and action sections of the plan,” he said. “We really tried to build the plan in reaction to feedback and let people drive it. It’s been a collaborative kind of experience.”

While COVID-19 did not derail the survey process, it did require the committee to rethink the survey’s delivery.

“The biggest challenge, especially in light of COVID-19, has been getting that input. That’s really what we want to make sure drives this process,” Darfler said. “It’s definitely caused us to have to kind of act on our feet.”

Rather than receiving public feedback through in-person meetings, the committee focused on making the survey accessible to as many residents as possible, promoting the survey and making it available online and by mail.

“We also know that different ways work for different folks, and we want to be really cognizant of that and aware that not everyone feels comfortable with an online survey,” Darfler said. “We really do want to try and make sure that we can include as many folks as we can even though we’re unable to have that kind of in-person connection, and that’s going to continue to be top of mind for us as we’re going forward.”

The survey process started at the beginning of June and concluded over the July 4 weekend, and as Mayor Rordan Hart explained, the participation rate was encouraging.

“We have actually received more survey results this go around in a shorter period of time than we received through the whole process in 2006,” Hart said. “I think the national surveys statistics say that if you get a 10% response rate, you’re doing fairly well. So, we’re certainly way above that in terms of adult village residents.”

Over 250 residents responded to the survey, which is similar to 2006’s numbers, and while the process of reviewing all survey results is still underway, Darfler said there are a few commonalities that stuck out to him right away.

“I’d say in general, it feels like the village residents are supportive of the balance of services that we have in the village, obviously, knowing that that has to balance with the costs of those services,” he said.

As far as changes, residents outlined areas like investing more in sidewalks and storm water management, something Darfler said the village board is continuing to focus on. In addition, residents stressed the importance of youth programming, keeping taxes low and maintaining the overall atmosphere of the village.

“The community really wants to keep our small-town feel,” Darfler said. “There’s an interest in looking into downtown Main Street design guidelines to kind of preserve that look and feel of the main street that we have. That’s really fantastic.”

That small-town feel is one of the characteristics that make Trumansburg desirable to visitors, Darfler said.

“We’re seeing a lot of interest in Trumansburg, so I think balancing that tax base, welcoming new residents but keeping that small-town feel is really the key challenge that I think desirable small communities like Trumansburg are going to have to tackle over the next decade, but definitely not unique to us,” Darfler said.

After the survey process is releasing an official draft of the full plan, which Darfler said the committee is looking to do this fall. Getting feedback on that draft requires its own set of new strategies, especially since having an in-person meeting for residents is unlikely with COVID safety restrictions as they are now.

“How do we make it more digestible than just dropping a draft on folks?” Darfler said. “That draft is going to be comprehensive. It’s going to be a long one, and not everyone’s going to feel like they’ve got time to really sit down and dive through all the details. What can we do in lieu of that public meeting to help people kind of get up to speed?”

Despite these format challenges, Hart said the pandemic likely won’t impact the long-term implementation of the finalized plan. Though COVID-19 has undoubtedly shaken the village’s economy, Hart explained that’s a short-term effect.

“If [residents] want to see continued provision of services continue, walkability continued, storefronts, restaurants, etc. downtown, that desire doesn’t change based on whether the economy is strong or weak,” he said. “If the economy is weak, then that desire will be highlighted by the fact that we don’t have something. If the economy is strong, this desire remains that just everyone will be glad that that desire is being met.”

Darfler shared that sentiment.

“I think we see it a little more holistically than just the immediate impact, but I think it aligns and just kind of draws the importance of the work that we’re doing,” he said. “It makes it much more clear how critical that is.”

For now, Hart and Darfler expressed optimism for the plan moving forward and recognized the hard work done by committee members.

“I’ve just been pleased with how well we’ve been able to keep up the pace, regardless of the pandemic that’s going on,” Darfler said.