Comprehensive Plan Update Committee

A community is the mental and spiritual condition of knowing that the place is shared, and that the people who share the place define and limit the possibilities of each other’s lives. It is the knowledge that people have of each other, their concern for each other, their trust in each other, the freedom with which they come and go among themselves. - Wendell Berry

The Comprehensive Plan Update Committee’s purpose is to update the adopted 2010 Comprehensive Plan. Our updating process commenced in 2019 with a gap of two years during COVID. Our current work is to bring the community's vision forward in preserving the Town's strengths, and addressing future needs and current challenges. The result will be an updated comprehensive plan of conservation and development. At its core, it will provide actionable plans and rationale for managed future growth, as well as the preservation of community character, natural resources, and open space. The update will also address changing climate challenges, community resiliency, and economic vitality in conjunction with regional partners and neighboring towns.

The makeup of the committee is comprised of the main Comprehensive Plan Update Committee with a Committee Chair and Members at Large, as well as subcommittee Working Groups focusing on chapter topics including:

• Natural Resources and Environmental Systems
• Sustainability
• Public Infrastructure, Services and Transportation
• Business and Economic Development
• Land Use and Zoning
• Housing and Demographics
• Historic Preservation, Cultural and Recreational Assets
• Community Engagement       

In 2024, building off the survey work done in prior years, we will be working with our consulting municipal planners on draft material and conducting a community engagement process.

This year is a great year to join in this work. Your interest and work on one or multiple chapter topics will provide important community input, individual thinking, and critical skill sets, which will make this work a success. Both new and long-time residents are critical to the effort. We hope to wrap up the new update in the next couple of years depending on Town funding and support, as well as the strength of this volunteer-led effort. If you are looking to contribute to an important, long-term endeavor, to meet similarly-interested neighbors, and contribute to the direction on a number of important issues, please consider joining.

If you are interested in joining the main Comprehensive Plan Update Committee or an ongoing Sub-committee Working Group, please contact Nicole Engel chiefofstaff@townofpoundridge.com