The Schuyler County Planning Commission was established by the County Legislature on February 11, 1957, in Resolution No. 21. Voting members consist of one member from each of the eight townships, one member from each of the four villages, and one member representing each of the following groups: Business, Farming, Industry, Medical and Tourism.

The Commission serves in an advisory capacity to the County Legislature, and receives referrals from municipalities within the county, according to General Municipal Law 239. Cornell Cooperative Extension provides staff and planning support to the Commission. The Schuyler County Comprehensive Plan is a project of the Commission.

The Planning Commission meetings are held the 2nd Thursday of each month, 7:00pm at the Schuyler County Human Services Complex, Room 120 in Montour Falls. Meetings are open to the public.

The following resources related to the Schuyler County Planning Commission are available on this website. To download, click the links:

GML 239 Initial Referral Form
To be used by a municipality submitting a referral for review

GML 239 Notice of Final Local Action Form
To be submitted by a municipality upon their completion of action on a referral

Schuyler County Town and Village Board Schedules – 2008

Schuyler County Planning Commission Members – 2008

Schuyler County Planning Commission agendas:December 2007

Schuyler County Planning Commission minutes: January 10, 2008 and March 13, 2008

Schuyler County Planning Commission Members:

Two year terms.

Chair
Richard Owlett
Town of Catharine
Term Ends: 12/31/08

Terry Gardner, Sr.
Town of Cayuta
Term Ends: 12/31/09

Rick Reisinger
Town of Dix
Term Ends: 12/31/08

Alvin White
Town of Hector
Term Ends: 12/31/08

Deborah Cox
Town of Montour
Term Ends: 12/31/08

Nancy Whipple
Town of Orange
Term Ends: 12/31/08

Chad Hendrickson
Town of Reading
Term Ends: 12/31/09

Hazel Raplee
Town of Tyrone
Term Ends: 12/31/09

Linda Arcangeli
Village of Burdett
Term Ends: 12/31/08

Sharon Weidemer
Village of Montour Falls
Term Ends: 12/31/09

Jeff Greuber
Village of Odessa
Term Ends: 12/31/08

James Adesso (Finishing Nick Kelly’s Term)
Village of Watkins Glen
Term Ends: 12/31/08

Kim DeVivi
Business
Term Ends: 12/31/09

John Wickham
Agriculture
Term Ends: 12/21/09

VACANT
Industry

Bill Kelly
Medical
Term Ends: 12/31/08

Cindy Kimble
Tourism
Term Ends: 12/21/09

For Questions or Comments Please Contact:
Danielle Hautaniemi
Director of Planning and Community Development
607-535-7161
E-mail: dah35@cornell.edu

In 2005, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Schuyler County, secured a $47,000 intermunicipal planning grant from New York State’s Quality Communities program for the Town of Montour and Village of Montour Falls. Although both municipalities had land use regulations in place, neither had comprehensive plans in place to promote quality development and guide desired regulation changes. Since mid-2006, the Town and the Village have been working with Shepstone Management Company & Fairweather Consulting to create an intermunicipal comprehensive plan and appropriate updates to local regulations. For additional information, please see the project website http://www.shepstone.net/Montour/, or contact Danielle Hautaniemi at 607-535-7161 or schuyler@cornell.edu.

What is the status of housing in Schuyler County? What are current and projected demands across income and age groups? Are homes and rental units affordable and available for residents? How much of our housing is substandard, and according to what definitions? How can housing rehabilitation, home-ownership strategies and new development strengthen our existing villages and hamlets while not adding additional strains to municipal budgets? What housing strategies work best for rural communities with limited resources?

In 2006, Cornell Cooperative Extension secured almost $40,000 in funding from the New York State Quality Communities Program to complete a comprehensive housing needs assessment for Schuyler County. We are pleased to partner with Schuyler County and SCOPED, Inc., the county’s economic development agency on this project.

Schuyler County has an aging, limited supply of housing that may no longer meet the needs of current residents and may hinder efforts to raise the overall level of property valuation and to attract young professionals, families and recent retirees. Recent proposals for both market-rate and affordable housing have brought this issue to the public’s attention. There is widespread agreement across planning, community & economic development that both substandard housing and a lack of attractive, available market-rate housing may hinder our economic progress. However, without up-to-date and appropriate information on available housing in both the rental and ownership markets, it is difficult to work with funders, housing agencies, and developers. The assessment will provide the County, municipalities and partner agencies with information and recommendations on housing within the county. Areas of particular concern are: the condition and age of existing units; affordability and quality; gaps in housing choice; locating new development given Schuyler County’s limited infrastructure and developing regulatory environment. An additional task of the assessment is to incorporate concern for preserving open space and maintaining the integrity of important resource lands, including forests and agricultural areas.

Final Schuyler County Listening Session – June 30, 2008

CCESC is partnering with Community Progress, Inc. and SCOPED to bring NYS Main Street Funds to qualifying projects along a four-block section of Franklin Street, in Watkins Glen. The goals of the program are to promote mixed commercial and residential uses in the Village’s historic commercial district, and to refurbish historic facades. NYS Department of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) awarded $200,000 of funding to the project in 2006, and we anticipate an early 2007 roll-out of the program. For more information on the NYS Main Street program, please see the main DHCR website at http://www.nymainstreet.org/. For additional information on the Franklin Street program, please contact Danielle Hautaniemi at 607-535-7161 or schuyler@cornell.edu.

The Catharine Valley Trail follows the remnants of the Chemung Canal and the abandoned Northern Central Railroad bed from the Village of Watkins Glen in Schuyler County to the Village of Horseheads in Chemung County. The proposed length of the trail is twelve miles. A five mile segment from the Village of Montour Falls to the Village of Millport is currently open, and hosts a variety of events throughout from Spring to early Fall. When completed, the trail will connect Watkins Glen State Park and Mark Twain State Park, with spurs to Shequaga Falls, Seneca Harbor Park and Clute Park in Schuyler County. Cornell Cooperative Extension, Schuyler County assists local governments with grant writing and administration to complete local trail connectors. For more information, please visit the Catharine Valley Trail website.

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Schuyler County Chamber of Commerce

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• Board of Directors
• Agriculture Program Committee
• Family and Consumer Education Program Committee
• 4-H Youth Development Program Committee
• Youth Site Program Committee
• RSVP Advisory Council

Board of Directors

President
Molly Lane
Retired

Vice President
Lindsay Wickham
NYS Farm Bureau Field Adviser/Local Issues Specialist

Treasurer
Michael Boggs
Sheep farmer & Cornell Energy Management

Kate Bartholomew
Teacher, Watkins Glen High School

Sharie Beaver
Stillman’s Greenhouse

Skip Bergen
Bergen’s Dairy Farm

Michelle Hyde
Parks Manager, Village of Watkins Glen

Doris Karius
Schuyler County Legislator

Dave Kunzmann
Independent Distributor

Rick Reisinger
Reisinger’s Apple Country

Liz Stamp

Robin N. Travis
Executive Director

Charles Fausold
Extension Support Specialist IV
Cooperative Extension Administration

Agriculture Program Committee

Chair
Michael Boggs
Sheep farmer & Cornell Energy Management

Vice Chair
Dave Moser
Concord Hill Farms

Valerie Carocci
Church Street U-Pick

Frank Gigliotti
Grape Grower

Family and Consumer Education Program Committee

Chair
Mary Wallenbeck
Health & Nutrition Manager, Schuyler Head Start

Nancy Brand
Director, Schuyler Outreach

Michele Gimbar
Director, Schuyler Head Start

Robin Johnson
Homemaker

Marcia Kasprzyk
Deputy Director, Public Health

Karen Petrie, RN
Director of Clinical Services, ARC of Schuyler County

4-H Youth Development Program Committee

Chair
JoAnn Fratarcangelo
Director, Schuyler County Youth Bureau

Vice-Chair
Braun Ort
Youth Representative

Michelle Hyde
Parks Manager, Village of Watkins Glen

Andrea Mattoon
Catholic Charities

Bonnie Pazar
Owner, The Manor Bed & Breakfast

Rebeccah Lees

Danielle Teed

Helen Teed

Sarah Teed

Beth Allen

Youth Site Program Committee

Chris Kimball-Peterson

Michelle Hyde

Dan Teed

Danielle Teed

Helen Teed

Sarah Teed

Braun Ort

Marty Evans

RSVP Advisory Council

President
Mike Mize
RSVP Volunteer

Vice-President
Ruth Prince
Schuyler Head Start

Treasurer
Norma Baldassarre
RSVP Volunteer

Secretary
Harold Carley
RSVP Volunteer

Rebecca Abraham
RSVP Volunteer

Heidi Berghoff

Nancy Brooks
RSVP Volunteer

Robert Burnside
RSVP Volunteer

Mary Gauck
Falls Home

John Potter
Director, Yates County Historical Society

Pat VanLone
RSVP Volunteer

David Kunzmann
RSVP Volunteer

Molly Lane
RSVP Volunteer

Glenn Larison
Legislator

Beth MacIntyre Lisk
Director, RSVP of Schuyler and Yates Counties

Kathryn Smeenk
Director, Yates County Office for the Aging

Robin Travis
Executive Director, Cornell Cooperative Extension, Schuyler County

Tamre Waite
Director, Schuyler County Office for the Aging

Coming soon.

Hidden Valley site is located at: www.hiddenvalley4hcamp.org