Town of Bethlehem Comprehensive Plan
Town of Bethlehem Comprehensive Plan
TOWN OF BETHLEHEM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
The Town of Bethlehem is updating its Comprehensive Plan to help guide the future of our community. Bethlehem Forward will establish a shared vision for the future and an action plan to achieve it. It will inform the community’s future land use, development, policy, programs, and infrastructure decisions.
A plan like this is only created about every 15 years, so take advantage of this unique opportunity and make sure your voice is heard!
You can get involved today: submit comments below, send us an email, join our mailing list, and follow us on social media. Be sure to check out the schedule for upcoming meetings and events.
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE ADOPTED BY TOWN BOARD ON JUNE 22, 2022
At its June 22, 2022 meeting, the Bethlehem Town Board adopted the Comprehensive Plan Update. The Plan can be viewed at the links below:
Comprehensive Plan Update (Web Version) - use this version for reading online
Comprehensive Plan Update (Print Version) - use this version for printing
Appendices
Appendix A: Transportation Maps
Appendix B: Infrastructure Maps
Appendix C: Community Engagement
Agriculture Business Focus Group Summary
Local Chamber Business Focus Group Summary
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE PUBLIC HEARING - MAY 11, 2022 AT 6PM
The Town Board has scheduled a public hearing for Wednesday, May 11, 2022 at 6:00pm at the Town Hall to solicit comment on the Draft Comprehensive Plan Update. The Town Board also established a public comment period of April 14, 2022 - May 13, 2022. Written comments can be sent via email to [email protected] or by mail to Bethlehem Planning Department, 445 Delaware Avenue, Delmar, NY 12054. The Draft Comprehensive Plan Update is available below. All parties interested and citizens will have an opportunity to be heard at the said hearing.
The project consultant, SWBR, provided an overview of the Draft Plan at the April 13, 2022 Town Board meeting. The video recording can be found at this link and presentation slides can be found at this link.
Background and Narrative
0. Cover: draft 04/04/2022
1.0 Background and Narrative: draft 04/04/2022
Bethlehem Today Community Profile
2.0 Bethlehem Today Community Profile: draft 04/04/2022
2.1 Natural Environment: draft 04/04/2022
2.2 Historic Preservation: draft 04/04/2022
2.3 Forests, Fields, Farmland: draft 04/04/2022
2.4 Land Use Zoning Housing: draft 04/04/2022
2.5 Demographics: draft 04/04/2022
2.6 Economic Development: draft 04/04/2022
2.7 Transportation: draft 04/04/2022
2.7a Transportation Attachments: draft 04/04/2022
2.8 Infrastructure: draft 04/04/2022
2.9 Recreation: draft 04/04/2022
2.10 Community Services: draft 04/04/2022
The Plan
3.0 Vision & Values: draft 04/04/2022
4.0 Goals and Recommendations: draft 04/04/2022
4.1 Interwoven Equity: draft 04/04/2022
4.2 Livable Built Environment: draft 04/04/2022
4.2a Community Character: draft 04/04/2022
4.3 Harmony with Nature: draft 04/04/2022
4.4 Resilient Economy: draft 04/04/2022
4.5 Healthy Community: draft 04/04/2022
4.6 Responsible Governance and Regionalism: draft 04/04/2022
5.0 Draft Land Use Map and Land Use Category Descriptions: draft 04/04/2022
Making it Happen
6.0 Making It Happen – Implementation Matrix: draft 04/04/2022
Appendices
Appendix A: Transportation Maps: draft 04/04/2022
Appendix B: Infrastructure Maps: draft 04/04/2022
Appendix C: Community Engagement draft 04/04/2022:
Agriculture Business Focus Group Summary
Local Chamber Business Focus Group Summary
Large Businesses Focus Group Summary
COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE COMMITTEE APPROVES DRAFT PLAN UPDATE - ADVANCES TO TOWN BOARD
At its April 4, 2022 meeting, the Comprehensive Plan Update Committee (CPUC) approved the Draft Comprehensive Plan Update, dated April 4, 2022, and made a recommendation to the Town Board for their consideration of adoption. The CPUC approval Resolution and April 4, 2022 version of the Plan are provided in the links below. The Plan sections include track changes to reflect the modifications made by the CPUC as a result of the comments provided at the March 28, 2022 public hearing. A summary of the public hearing comments (in-person and written) and responses are provided in the public hearing log table provided in the link below.
CPUC Resolution to Recommend Draft Plan to Town Board
Public Hearing Response to Comments Summary
Next Steps
The Town Board is expected acknowledge the CPUC Resolution at its April 13, 2022 Town Board meeting and schedule a 2nd public hearing to be held on May 11, 2022.
PUBLIC HEARING SCHEDULED FOR 3/28/2022
The Comprehensive Plan Update Committee will hold a public hearing on Monday, March 28, 2022 at 6:00pm at Town Hall, 445 Delaware Avenue, to solicit comment on the Draft Comprehensive Plan Update. The March 8 Draft Comprehensive Plan Update document is available below. All interested parties and citizens will have an opportunity to be heard.
Please share with CPUC any comments you may have by leaving a comment below or by sending an email to [email protected] by March 29. When commenting, please include a section or page number so it is clear what area of the Plan your comment is related.
Adoption Status: As of March 2022, the CPUC is reviewing the draft plan and will provide recommendations to the Town Board. The CPUC reviewed Planning Board recommendations at its March 8, 2022 meeting. Following the upcoming March 28 Public Hearing, the committee will meet in early April to address comments and will direct the project team to modify the Plan accordingly prior to the plan being forwarded to the Town Board for their consideration.
Once the Plan is forwarded to the Town Board, a second public comment period and public hearing will be established. Public comments for the second comment period will be considered in a Final Plan prior to adoption, anticipated for June.
DRAFT COMPREHENSIVE PLAN - CPUC REVIEW DRAFTS
0. Cover: draft 01/28/2022 | draft 03/08/2022
1.0 Background and Narrative: draft 01/28/2022 | draft 03/08/2022
2.0 Bethlehem Today Community Profile: draft 01/28/2022 | draft 03/08/2022
2.1 Natural Environment: draft 01/28/2022 | draft 03/08/2022
2.2 Historic Preservation: draft 01/28/2022 | draft 03/08/2022
2.3 Forests, Fields, Farmland: draft 01/28/2022 | draft 03/08/2022
2.4 Land Use Zoning Housing: draft 01/28/2022 | draft 03/08/2022
2.5 Demographics: draft 01/28/2022 | draft 03/08/2022
2.6 Economic Development: draft 01/28/2022 | draft 03/08/2022
2.7 Transportation: draft 02/04/2022 | draft 03/08/2022
2.7a Transportation Attachments: draft 02/11/2022 | draft 03/08/2022
2.8 Infrastructure: draft 01/28/2022 | draft 03/08/2022
2.9 Recreation: draft 01/28/2022 | draft 03/08/2022
2.10 Community Services: draft 01/28/2022 | draft 03/08/2022
3.0 Vision & Values: draft 01/28/2022 | draft 03/08/2022
4.0 Goals and Recommendations: draft 01/28/2022 | draft 03/08/2022
4.1 Interwoven Equity: draft 01/28/2022 | draft 03/08/2022
4.2 Livable Built Environment: draft 01/28/2022 | draft 03/08/2022
4.2a Community Character: draft 03/08/2022
4.3 Harmony with Nature: draft 01/28/2022 | draft 03/08/2022
4.4 Resilient Economy: draft 01/28/2022 | draft 03/08/2022
4.5 Healthy Community: draft 01/28/2022 | draft 03/08/2022
4.6 Responsible Governance and Regionalism: draft 01/28/2022 | draft 03/08/2022
5.0 Draft Land Use Map and Land Use Category Descriptions: draft 01/28/2022 | draft 03/08/2022
6.0 Making It Happen – Implementation Matrix: draft 02/11/2022 | draft 03/08/2022
Appendix A: Transportation Maps: draft 01/28/2022
Appendix B: Infrastructure Maps: draft 01/28/2022
Appendix C: Community Engagement:
Agriculture Business Focus Group Summary
Local Chamber Business Focus Group Summary
REVISED GOALS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
As the CPUC discusses feedback from residents gathered at the November 18 public meeting and from comments submitted over the holidays, the project team has been making changes to reflect the ongoing discussions. You can find the revisions to draft goals and recommendations below:
Livable Built Environment: draft 11/15/21 | draft 01/11/22 |
Harmony with Nature: draft 11/15/21 | draft 01/11/22 |
Resilient Economy: draft 11/15/21 | draft 01/11/22 |
Healthy Community: draft 11/15/21 | draft 01/11/22 |
Responsible Governance and Regionalism: draft 11/15/21 | draft 01/11/22 |
DRAFT FUTURE LAND USE MAP
The draft future land use map is intended to serve as a land use guide towards achieving the community vision. The land use map is based on CPUC workshop meetings in July/August 2021 including public comments received during CPUC meetings and public meetings.
PUBLIC MEETING - NOVEMBER 18
Thank you to all who attended the November 18 meeting! We had close to 90 attendees and great discussion of the draft goals and recommendations. If you couldn't attend the meeting or have additional thoughts you'd like to share, please complete this comment form and send to [email protected] or drop it off at the Economic Development and Planning Department window at Town Hall (2nd Floor). You can also send us an email if you prefer.
Below are the revised draft Goals and Recommendations that were presented at the meeting:
Display Boards for All Principles
Livable Built Environment (11/15/21 draft)
Harmony with Nature (11/15/21 draft)
Resilient Economy (11/15/21 draft)
Healthy Community (11/15/21 draft)
Responsible Governance and Regionalism (11/15/21 draft)
DRAFT GOALS AND RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE WORKS
Following the Comprehensive Plan Update Committee’s work over the summer on draft goals and their review of predominant land uses across the town, the committee is currently discussing draft recommendations for specific ways that Bethlehem can achieve each of the draft goals. The draft recommendations and their associated goals are grouped into separate documents according to the 5 guiding principles. These draft documents will be linked below when they become available:
Livable Built Environment – discussed at the 9/14 and 9/30 CPUC meetings
Harmony with Nature – discussed at the 9/30 and 10/12 CPUC meetings
Resilient Economy – discussed at the 10/28 CPUC meeting
Healthy Community – discussed at the 10/28 CPUC meeting
Responsible Governance and Regionalism – to be discussed at the 11/9 meeting
Attending the CPUC meetings in-person provides the best experience and greatest opportunity for providing comments to the Committee, but if you can't join us at the EMS Building, you can listen to the discussion via Zoom. If you wish to join via Zoom, please register for the meeting via the meetings tab (above) or the Town Comprehensive Plan Update Committee webpage. As always, recordings of the Comprehensive Plan Update Committee meetings can be watched via the Town's meeting portal. Just be sure to select Comprehensive Plan Update Committee from the drop down list at the top of the page.
BETHLEHEM TODAY
To create the right set of goals and recommended actions to reach the vision for Bethlehem, we need to understand the current conditions and trends, what resources are at our disposal, and what challenges we face in the years ahead. The Bethlehem Today video presentation is a thorough overview of the Bethlehem’s natural environments and farmland areas, trends in population growth and demographics, traffic and transportation issues, sustainability efforts, housing patterns, economic development progress, and more.
(Direct link to video here: https://www.facebook.com/BethlehemForward/videos/481880842990970)
Many of the full documents, plans, and maps that were reviewed to prepare the "Bethlehem Today" video can be found in the "Documents" section below and to the right on this page.
Questions? Email us at [email protected]!
NEEDS AND OPPORTUNITY SURVEY
Over 1,750 people took the Needs and Opportunities Survey! The Survey Summary can be reviewed in the "Documents" section below and to the right on this page. These valuable survey responses will help guide the visioning and planning process throughout the Bethlehem Forward Comprehensive Plan Update project. Thank you! A second survey is planned for Fall 2021. And remember, you can always submit your comments to the Bethlehem Forward project team anytime in the comments section below! "Your town - your voice!"