Glen Cove to create an updated master plan

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The City of Glen Cove is looking ahead, and is on track to create a new plan for the city’s future. Last month, the city was awarded grant funding from New York State to prepare a new master plan for the first time in more than a decade.

“The city’s current master plan is nearly 12 years old,” Mayor Pamela D. Panzenbeck said, “and ready for an update.”

The grant was pursued by the Glen Cove Community Development Agency, chaired at the time by former Mayor Tim Tenke. Tenke, along with CDA Executive Director Ann Fangmann and Jocelyn Wenk, created a work plan to request the funding. In December, the grant application was approved, and New York State awarded $150,000 in funding to the city for a new master plan through the Regional Economic Development Council Initiative. With the funding, the city will prepare a new comprehensive plan—PlanGC—that is the blueprint for Glen Cove’s future.

According to Fangmann, the plan will guide the city’s investment, development, and growth over the next decade.

The award includes $100,000 in grant funding from New York State Department of State through the Smart Growth Comprehensive Planning Program and $50,000 in grant funding from New York State Department of Environmental Conservation through the Climate Smart Communities Program.

“I’m excited for the opportunity to embark on this collaborative planning journey,” Fangmann said, “engaging broadly with city stakeholders and residents.”

Because of the many changes that have occurred in recent years throughout the city, as well as the current economic conditions, Fangmann said, the CDA felt that it was the right time to apply for the grant. Additionally, she said, master plans are typically updated every decade or so. The city’s current master plan was completed in 2009.

The new plan, she said, will account for the of changes that have occurred since then, including large-scale redevelopment in the downtown and waterfront areas, and for current trends such as commercial real estate market changes resulting from the pandemic.

“There is heightened urgency to prepare for the impacts of climate change in Glen Cove,” she said, noting that the city has 10 miles of coastal shoreline. “The new master plan will also enable the city to tackle critical local issues such as drinking water.”

The process of creating a new plan will take about two years, Fangmann said, and will include a lot of public outreach.

According to the work plan submitted with the application, the updated plan will be “user friendly, interactive and web-based,” with an emphasis on sustainability goals. PlanGC will also develop growth strategies for Glen Cove that foster recovery from the pandemic; reinvigorate the retail/commercial sector; produce a new generation of sustainable, well-paying jobs; facilitate access to high-quality childcare; stimulate vibrant community life; enhance parks, historic places, and arts venues and organizations; integrate Smart Growth principles; and rebuild and expand infrastructure to revitalize downtown and areas near transit.

Community input will be used to prioritize strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to enhance understanding of ways in which residents are already experiencing the impacts of climate change.

“Our public outreach will be very interactive,” Fangmann said. “We want to get into the community and make it accessible so everyone has input.”