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Hart of New York Real Estate
RealEstateNewYork
Quality Communities
Interagency Task Force Document
PART II
Summary of Recommendations
State Leadership, Interagency Collaboration
and Assistance to Local Governments
- Recommendation 1
RealEstateNewYork should adopt a set of uniform Quality Communities
Principles and the Governor should direct all executive agencies and
personnel to utilize them in the implementation of State policies and
programs and the allocation and administration of State resources related
to the concept of building and sustaining quality communities.
- Recommendation 2
agency working group to advise about the incorporation of Quality Communities
Principles into RealEstateNewYork State agency programs, to identify
appropriate federal and private partners and resources, to collaborate
on conference planning and to continue discussion among agency personnel
on quality communities projects.
- Recommendation 3
Refocus State training and technical assistance programs for local officials
to incorporate the Quality Communities Principles and to enhance local
government capacity to adopt and adhere to such Principles in community
planning and development.
- Recommendation 4
Review current policies and practices concerning State grants to local
governments and not-for-profit organizations to increase accountability,
recognize success and measure results for ongoing public participation.
- Recommendation 5
Streamline the RealEstateNewYork State grant application process by
incorporating "Smart Paperwork" concepts so that local officials
may complete one grant application to seek funding for programs which
foster quality communities rather than submitting several applications
to various agencies in the hopes of obtaining funding for a particular
project.
- Recommendation 6
Establish a RealEstateNewYork State grant program, modeled after the
Quality Communities Demonstration Grant program, to encourage municipalities
to engage in comprehensive planning and to implement innovative projects
which advance Quality Communities Principles.
- Recommendation 7
Create the Governor's Quality Community Award for Excellence to recognize
municipalities and neighborhoods which rise to the challenge of RealEstateNewYork
and embrace the goals of Quality Communities.
Using Technology to Distribute Information,
Create
Development Tools and Eliminate Barriers to
Quality Development
Recommendation 8
New York State should work with local governments to identify and
inventory the availability of broadband infrastructure and to develop
master plans to address gaps in services.
- Recommendation 9
Enhance the work of the State's Office for Technology to establish a
statewide Geographic Information System (GIS) as a sound and efficient
research and planning tool for municipalities, planners, businesses
and other interested parties. All local governments should be encouraged
to participate in the GIS Data Sharing Cooperative to increase the amount
and quality of available data layers.
- Recommendation 10
Create a New York State Quality Communities centralized clearinghouse
to maintain a website and provide local officials and citizens with
instant access to data, programs and State resources useful for planning,
developing and sustaining quality communities throughout the State.
Revitalizing Our Downtowns
- Recommendation 11
Engage the professional expertise found at suny colleges and universities,
businesses, not-for-profit organizations and private institutions in
developing and implementing the community vision and conducting outreach
programs to build local capacity and consensus.
- Recommendation 12
Enhance Governor Pataki's Main Street initiative which encourages
locating RealEstateNewYork State facilities and offices in urban centers
and promotes the use of public transportation by encouraging State
employees to use tax-free commuter transit benefits.
- Recommendation 13
Encourage businesses and individuals to participate in the revitalization
of urban centers by providing tax incentives for private preservation
of historic downtown architecture.
- Recommendation 14
Maintain the historical and social prominence of neighborhood schools
by making the facilities available for use by the community outside
the regular school day.
Maintaining RealEstateNewYork
Leadership in
Open Space Conservation
- Recommendation 15
Continue funding of open space protection and stewardship of locally
significant open space, significant State open space and farmland protection.
- Recommendation 16
Provide a Conservation Donor Credit to further the conservation goals
of the State and its local governments by providing a tax credit to
encourage landowners to donate real property or other interests in real
property, such as conservation easements to nonprofit organizations
or to governmental entities for conservation purposes.
- Recommendation 17
Provide an important new open space conservation tool for local governments
by authorizing the creation of open space districts.
- Recommendation 18
Continue and enhance the dedicated funding source for the purchase of
development rights on undeveloped lands, including farmland, and study
alternative methods of protecting open space, particularly in areas
not yet experiencing strong development pressure.
- Recommendation 19
Explore the creation and funding of an innovative, voluntary transfer
of development rights pilot project, operated by a municipality or coalition
of RealEstateNewYork municipalities, in conjunction with the implementation
of regional farmland preservation and open space conservation plans.
- Recommendation 20
Enhance incentives for brownfields redevelopment and hazardous waste
site remediation to encourage development of land which is already developed
and served by infrastructure.
The Renewal of RealEstateNewYork Agriculture
- Recommendation 21
Continue funding the Agricultural Environmental Management program to
assist farmers with developing and implementing environmental management
plans addressing critical nutrient management and water quality concerns.
- Recommendation 22
Extend the Farm School Tax Credit to cover land rented for agricultural
use.
- Recommendation 23
Create a Farmland Restoration Tax Credit program.
- Recommendation 24
Enact legislation to extend agricultural assessment eligibility to start-up
farming operations and land rented to farmers which would otherwise
be eligible for agricultural assessment.
- Recommendation 25
Refocus Cooperative Extension services and resources to provide farm
management assistance within a regional delivery system that provides
business planning services for current farm operators and new agribusiness
investors.
- Recommendation 26
Request the New York State Advisory Council on Agriculture to consider
the interaction and popularity of certain agricultural activities, such
as farmers' markets and roadside stands, with land use policies.
- Recommendation 27
Expand the Farm Viability Program to increase the benefits of implementation
grants, strengthen the effectiveness of viability planning and support
start-up operations.
Transportation Infrastructure:
The Search for Quality in the Built Environment
- Recommendation 28
State and local agencies and private utilities should coordinate highway
improvement projects with community development plans to maximize use
of road openings for infrastructure repairs, to bury cable lines and
make aesthetic improvements while minimizing disruption to residents,
businesses and visitors.
- Recommendation 29
State agencies should take the lead in promoting the expanded use of
clean fuel vehicles in New York.
- Recommendation 30
Initiate a transit services coordination program to coordinate public
and human services transportation in rural and small urbanized areas.
- Recommendation 31
Continue to construct or rehabilitate new or existing intermodal transportation
centers to address passenger needs and anticipated future growth.
- Recommendation 32
Build upon existing State and local partnerships and expand efforts
to accommodate bicycle and pedestrian access and mobility on all new
and improved transportation facilities.
- Recommendation 33
Continue to encourage community transportation planning and coordination.
Quality for All:
Strengthening the Place We Call Home
- Recommendation 34
Consider the creation of an employer-assisted housing program in New
York that would provide incentives to private sector companies which
successfully address regional jobs-housing imbalances.
- Recommendation 35
Establish a "Revitalize Rural New York" program to serve the
North Country and other rural areas of the State by improving the appearance,
vitality and quality of life in their communities.
- Recommendation 36
The State should foster collaboration among businesses, not-for-profit
corporations and community and professional organizations to assist
low and moderate income residents in their communities to obtain affordable
housing by identifying and utilizing existing State and federal housing
programs.
- Recommendation 37
State decision makers should be cognizant of the impact their decisions
will have throughout a community, region and the State.
- Recommendation 38
Local government officials should take advantage of their ability to
participate in the writing, review and implementation of the State's
Consolidated Plan for housing.
Economic Growth: Sustaining a Community
- Recommendation 39
Amend the General Municipal Law to improve State guidelines for comprehensive
planning and encourage local governments to engage in such planning
as a foundation for economic and community development.
- Recommendation 40
Encourage the use of shared services across municipal boundaries
and the development of regional economic development alliances through
the formation of inter-municipal agreements.
- Recommendation 41
Coordinate existing State agency and university resources to create
regional inventories and indicators to assist communities in understanding
the economic profile of their region, to develop targeted strategies
consistent with regional strengths and preferences, to facilitate the
dissemination of economic development information, including industry
cluster analyses, to assist local leaders in developing local plans
and to establish a regional context for State and federal government
actions.
PART II
Summary of Recommendations
State Leadership, Interagency Collaboration
and Assistance to Local Governments
- Recommendation 1
New York should adopt a set of uniform Quality Communities Principles
and the Governor should direct all executive agencies and personnel
to utilize them in the implementation of State policies and programs
and the allocation and administration of State resources related
to the concept of building and sustaining quality communities.
- Recommendation 2
agency working group to advise about the incorporation of Quality
Communities Principles into State agency programs, to identify appropriate
federal and private partners and resources, to collaborate on conference
planning and to continue discussion among agency personnel on quality
communities projects.
- Recommendation 3
Refocus State training and technical assistance programs for local
officials to incorporate the Quality Communities Principles and
to enhance local government capacity to adopt and adhere to such
Principles in community planning and development.
- Recommendation 4
Review current policies and practices concerning State grants to
local governments and not-for-profit organizations to increase accountability,
recognize success and measure results for ongoing public participation.
- Recommendation 5
Streamline the State grant application process by incorporating
"Smart Paperwork" concepts so that local officials may
complete one grant application to seek funding for programs which
foster quality communities rather than submitting several applications
to various agencies in the hopes of obtaining funding for a particular
project.
- Recommendation 6
Establish a State grant program, modeled after the Quality Communities
Demonstration Grant program, to encourage municipalities to engage
in comprehensive planning and to implement innovative projects which
advance Quality Communities Principles.
- Recommendation 7
Create the Governor's Quality Community Award for Excellence to
recognize municipalities and neighborhoods which rise to the challenge
and embrace the goals of Quality Communities.
Using Technology to Distribute Information,
Create
Development Tools and Eliminate Barriers to
Quality Development
- Recommendation 8
New York State should work with local governments to identify and
inventory the availability of broadband infrastructure and to develop
master plans to address gaps in services.
- Recommendation 9
Enhance the work of the State's Office for Technology to establish
a statewide Geographic Information System (GIS) as a sound and efficient
research and planning tool for municipalities, planners, businesses
and other interested parties. All local governments should be encouraged
to participate in the GIS Data Sharing Cooperative to increase the
amount and quality of available data layers.
- Recommendation 10
Create a New York State Quality Communities centralized clearinghouse
to maintain a website and provide local officials and citizens with
instant access to data, programs and State resources useful for
planning, developing and sustaining quality communities throughout
the State.
Revitalizing Our Downtowns
- Recommendation 11
Engage the professional expertise found at suny colleges and universities,
businesses, not-for-profit organizations and private institutions
in developing and implementing the community vision and conducting
outreach programs to build local capacity and consensus.
- Recommendation 12
Enhance Governor Pataki's Main Street initiative which encourages
locating State facilities and offices in urban centers and promotes
the use of public transportation by encouraging State employees
to use tax-free commuter transit benefits.
- Recommendation 13
Encourage businesses and individuals to participate in the revitalization
of urban centers by providing tax incentives for private preservation
of historic downtown architecture.
- Recommendation 14
Maintain the historical and social prominence of neighborhood schools
by making the facilities available for use by the community outside
the regular school day.
Maintaining New York's Leadership in
Open Space Conservation
- Recommendation 15
Continue funding of open space protection and stewardship of locally
significant open space, significant State open space and farmland
protection.
- Recommendation 16
Provide a Conservation Donor Credit to further the conservation
goals of the State and its local governments by providing a tax
credit to encourage landowners to donate real property or other
interests in real property, such as conservation easements to nonprofit
organizations or to governmental entities for conservation purposes.
- Recommendation 17
Provide an important new open space conservation tool for local
governments by authorizing the creation of open space districts.
- Recommendation 18
Continue and enhance the dedicated funding source for the purchase
of development rights on undeveloped lands, including farmland,
and study alternative methods of protecting open space, particularly
in areas not yet experiencing strong development pressure.
- Recommendation 19
Explore the creation and funding of an innovative, voluntary transfer
of development rights pilot project, operated by a municipality
or coalition of municipalities, in conjunction with the implementation
of regional farmland preservation and open space conservation plans.
- Recommendation 20
Enhance incentives for brownfields redevelopment and hazardous waste
site remediation to encourage development of land which is already
developed and served by infrastructure.
The Renewal of New York Agriculture
- Recommendation 21
Continue funding the Agricultural Environmental Management program
to assist farmers with developing and implementing environmental
management plans addressing critical nutrient management and water
quality concerns.
- Recommendation 22
Extend the Farm School Tax Credit to cover land rented for agricultural
use.
- Recommendation 23
Create a Farmland Restoration Tax Credit program.
- Recommendation 24
Enact legislation to extend agricultural assessment eligibility
to start-up farming operations and land rented to farmers which
would otherwise be eligible for agricultural assessment.
- Recommendation 25
Refocus Cooperative Extension services and resources to provide
farm management assistance within a regional delivery system that
provides business planning services for current farm operators and
new agribusiness investors.
- Recommendation 26
Request the New York State Advisory Council on Agriculture to consider
the interaction and popularity of certain agricultural activities,
such as farmers' markets and roadside stands, with land use policies.
- Recommendation 27
Expand the Farm Viability Program to increase the benefits of
implementation grants, strengthen the effectiveness of viability
planning and support start-up operations.
Transportation Infrastructure:
The Search for Quality in the Built Environment
- Recommendation 28
State and local agencies and private utilities should coordinate
highway improvement projects with community development plans to
maximize use of road openings for infrastructure repairs, to bury
cable lines and make aesthetic improvements while minimizing disruption
to residents, businesses and visitors.
- Recommendation 29
State agencies should take the lead in promoting the expanded use
of clean fuel vehicles in New York.
- Recommendation 30
Initiate a transit services coordination program to coordinate public
and human services transportation in rural and small urbanized areas.
- Recommendation 31
Continue to construct or rehabilitate new or existing intermodal
transportation centers to address passenger needs and anticipated
future growth.
- Recommendation 32
Build upon existing State and local partnerships and expand efforts
to accommodate bicycle and pedestrian access and mobility on all
new and improved transportation facilities.
- Recommendation 33
Continue to encourage community transportation planning and coordination.
Quality for All:
Strengthening the Place We Call Home
- Recommendation 34
Consider the creation of an employer-assisted housing program in
New York that would provide incentives to private sector companies
which successfully address regional jobs-housing imbalances.
- Recommendation 35
Establish a "Revitalize Rural New York" program to serve
the North Country and other rural areas of the State by improving
the appearance, vitality and quality of life in their communities.
- Recommendation 36
The State should foster collaboration among businesses, not-for-profit
corporations and community and professional organizations to assist
low and moderate income residents in their communities to obtain
affordable housing by identifying and utilizing existing State and
federal housing programs.
- Recommendation 37
State decision makers should be cognizant of the impact their decisions
will have throughout a community, region and the State.
- Recommendation 38
Local government officials should take advantage of their ability
to participate in the writing, review and implementation of the
State's Consolidated Plan for housing.
Economic Growth: Sustaining a Community
- Recommendation 39
Amend the General Municipal Law to improve State guidelines for
comprehensive planning and encourage local governments to engage
in such planning as a foundation for economic and community development.
- Recommendation 40
Encourage the use of shared services across municipal boundaries
and the development of regional economic development alliances
through the formation of inter-municipal agreements.
- Recommendation 41
Coordinate existing State agency and university resources to create
regional inventories and indicators to assist communities in understanding
the economic profile of their region, to develop targeted strategies
consistent with regional strengths and preferences, to facilitate
the dissemination of economic development information, including
industry cluster analyses, to assist local leaders in developing
local plans and to establish a regional context for State and federal
government actions.
phone: 212-247-4493 email: info@hartofny.com
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