Syracuse and Onondaga have new urbanist plan

The city of Syracuse, New York, and the surrounding Onondaga County now have a new urbanist plan to guide growth over the next 20 years. On October 13, Andres Duany presented the results of a week-long charrette to the public. One of the first regional plans undertaken by Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co., the “Onondaga County Settlement Plan” presents a vision for eight sites chosen from a list of 20 submitted by a county steering committee. The plans and accompanying codes are meant to serve as models for future growth patterns. Individual municipalities can tailor the codes to fit their needs. Duany emphasized that the new urbanist codes should not become mandatory but should rather work parallel to existing codes. By planning in accordance with new codes, developers would bypass lengthy approval processes and expedite construction. Duany’s vision for Onondaga County is to attract new residents with quality of life, vibrant neighborhoods, and unspoiled natural areas. The jobs will follow the people, he contends. So far the plan has strong support from key local players. The effort to hire Duany was spearheaded by Karen Kitney, director of the Syracuse-Onondaga County planning agency, and the county executive as well as the chairman of the legislature are behind the plan. The charrette was funded by the county legislature, the Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency, Niagara Mohawk Power Cooperation, and Centro, the local transit authority.