A New County Plan

The County Executive and Syracuse-Onondaga County Planning Agency (SOCPA) are proposing themes to initiate and drive development of a County Plan. The themes are to give shape to the plan and provide for initial engagement and discussion. The purpose of the outreach and engagement is to identify current needs and align those needs with a theme. These themes will then be explored in the context of Onondaga County and its communities within the plan. The plan will identify action items to guide planning activities in fulfillment of the plan over the next 10 years.

Goals of the Plan

• Use and promote inclusive community and design-based planning processes.
• Create a future vision for Onondaga County with its municipalities that increases our ability to compete with other regions in attacting people and jobs.
• Improve quality of life for the people who live here now while also attracting new residents and businesses by creating more desirable places to live.
• Identify long term planning goals and what resources are necessary to achieve these goals.
• Implement the County Plan through planning and capital improvement projects aligned with local municipalities.

Proposed Themes

• Economic Growth & Development - Create places where people want to live and do business through:
  • Community Engagement - Community and design-based planning
  • Strong Centers - Character, function, value, and placemaking
  • Transportation Corridors - Planning corridors for high performance and future development
  • Agriculture - Protect, promote, and grow
  • Greenways and Greenbelts - Protect, conserve, and restore
  • Housing and Neighborhoods - Diverse, efficient, and attractive

Plan Progress

Onondaga County was awarded a grant from Empire State Development to prepare a countywide plan. Currently that RFP has been released by the county and a consulting firm is expected to be selected and ready for implementation in the fall of 2020. Stay tuned.