Town of Prattsville Comprehensive Plan

This website is designed to keep the community updated and engaged with the development of the Interim Dissolution Study for the Village of Highland Falls.

Welcome!

Welcome to the Town of Prattsville Comprehensive Plan project website. We are excited that you are here and interested in the future of the Town. This website is intended to provide information regarding the development of the Comprehensive Plan update, and keep the community informed of opportunities to participate in the process.

Please continue to check back often for project updates!

PLEASE TAKE A FEW MINUTES TO TAKE OUR BRIEF SURVEY HERE.

YOUR INPUT AND IDEAS ARE VITAL
in order to help shape the future of our community.

Why create a new Comprehensive Plan now?

The Town of Prattsville has experienced many challenges over the past 18 years since it last prepared a Comprehensive Plan. In this timeframe, Prattsville’s Hamlet along the Schoharie Creek was overwhelmed by flooding from Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee. As a rural community with a year-round population of just under 800 and limited commercial and economic development opportunities, residents and business owners are forced to shoulder a disproportionate amount of the local tax burden for community services, infrastructure improvements, and long-term planning. While significant progress has been made since the 2011 flooding, Prattsville is in need of a fresh look at its current social, economic, and environmental conditions, and to consider new economic development, housing, recreation, and community opportunities along with enhanced storm and flood resiliency.

Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee in 2011 devastated the town, resulting in the loss of over 40% of all Hamlet structures. As a result, Prattsville participated in the NY Rising Community Reconstruction Program resulting in the preparation of a Conceptual Plan (dated October, 2013) and Reconstruction Plan (dated March 2014). These plans identified strategies and associated steps to help rebuild a more resilient community. While significant progress has been made in restoring the town’s Main Street, local businesses, housing, and infrastructure, more work is necessary to place Prattsville on firm footing to address existing challenges, plan ahead to successfully tackle future ones, and achieve continued success and growth. In addition, the 2013 and 2014 plans only focused on the Hamlet and did not evaluate the remainder of the Town or identify long-term strategies outside of the Hamlet. A new Comprehensive Plan that incorporates smart growth ideals and practices will allow the town to evaluate and consider town wide issues and put forth a full community plan.

Moreover, the Town of Prattsville successfully applied to the Hudson River Valley Greenway Grant Program in February 2022 for funding to begin Phase 1 of the Comprehensive Plan update project: “Vision Prattsville.” NYS Department of State’s (NYSDOS) Smart Growth Comprehensive Planning Grant Program funds will help leverage previously awarded funds to complete the remaining phases of the planning process.

A new Comprehensive Plan that incorporates smart growth principles will place the Town of Prattsville on firm footing to address new challenges and position itself for continued strategic growth.

Your input and insights are extremely important to this process.

Phased Planning Process

The comprehensive planning process will be divided into two phases:

PHASE 1

The initial visioning phase, which is scheduled for completion by December of 2022, will provide for robust community engagement and extensive public involvement to establish a clear vision for the future of Prattsville.

Through Phase 1, Prattsville will seek to achieve balanced and diversified community input utilizing a variety of outreach methods to solicit participation. Engaging the community in meetings, focus groups, surveys, and interviews, residents and business owners will be directly involved in forming the vision for development and preservation in the Town of Prattsville. Phase 1 will further allow the Town to evaluate progress made in recent years, identify gaps, prioritize the community’s next steps, and leverage future funding opportunities.

Phase 1 activities include:

Public Outreach Efforts
Public Meeting 1: Open House
Public Meeting 2: Workshop
Community Vision Plan

PHASE 2

The second phase will leverage the findings, and analysis conducted during Phase 1 into the preparation of the full Comprehensive Plan. the Town has an opportunity to apply to NYS Department of State’s (NYS DOS) Smart Growth Comprehensive Planning Grant Program to complete Phase 2 of the planning process. Robust community involvement, input, and support is of major importance not only in our planning approach to this project but it is also critically important in the competitive grant funding process.

We appreciate your interest in this vital planning project and welcome your insights and questions to help shape the planning process and the future of the Town of Prattsville.

Phase 2 activities include:

Establish Community Vision
Inventory and Analysis
Identify Goals & Objects
Draft 1 Completed for Review
Final Draft Completed
Public Hearing
Town Board Acceptance

How can I get involved in the process?

It is important to get involved in the Comprehensive Plan activities, from data collection, to community visioning and mapping, to the creation of community goals and objectives. The Get Involved page of this website describes all of the current opportunities available to provide your input, including public meetings, online surveys, and questionnaires.

More to come.

This website will provide information about opportunities for public input, meeting updates, relevant documents, and additional information as it becomes available. Please check back often for updates.

Updated July 12, 2022