For over a fifty years the Village of Herkimer has been without an official Master Plan to serve as guidance for the municipal government, causing all initiatives to be viewed as reactive. Past efforts to develop a formal Master Plan include an initiative in 1962, and again in 1978, of which neither documents were affirmed and ratified to serve the purpose of the Village’s Master Plan.
Absent the use of an official Master Plan, the Village administration has been without any short or long term strategy, no overall platform to develop tactical plans of execution, and has been without supportive documentation when submitting grant requests to state or federal government agencies. In essence all of the federal funding programs, as well as most of the present and potential state programs, require adherence to a comprehensive plan (or Master Plan). Therefore the Village is placed low on the priority list for approval when submitting grant applications because it does not have a Master Plan.
According to the New York State’s Zoning and the Comprehensive Plan (2015), the Comprehensive Plan or Master Plan is “… the culmination of a planning process that establishes the official land use policy of a community and presents goals and a vision for the future that guides official decision-making.”
It is therefore the goal of the Village of Herkimer Master Plan 2020 to define the profile of the Village of Herkimer for the year 2020 and beyond. The contents of this document provide the framework by which Village Administration will develop tactical plans for the Village of Herkimer; assign and support the Village Planning Board and Zoning Board in any and all efforts to assess and define a new zoning profile; seek out and submit both state and federal grant applications; and solicit support from the Herkimer County Industrial Development Agency and any other supportive government agency to achieve the directives outlined in this document.
Absent the use of an official Master Plan, the Village administration has been without any short or long term strategy, no overall platform to develop tactical plans of execution, and has been without supportive documentation when submitting grant requests to state or federal government agencies. In essence all of the federal funding programs, as well as most of the present and potential state programs, require adherence to a comprehensive plan (or Master Plan). Therefore the Village is placed low on the priority list for approval when submitting grant applications because it does not have a Master Plan.
According to the New York State’s Zoning and the Comprehensive Plan (2015), the Comprehensive Plan or Master Plan is “… the culmination of a planning process that establishes the official land use policy of a community and presents goals and a vision for the future that guides official decision-making.”
It is therefore the goal of the Village of Herkimer Master Plan 2020 to define the profile of the Village of Herkimer for the year 2020 and beyond. The contents of this document provide the framework by which Village Administration will develop tactical plans for the Village of Herkimer; assign and support the Village Planning Board and Zoning Board in any and all efforts to assess and define a new zoning profile; seek out and submit both state and federal grant applications; and solicit support from the Herkimer County Industrial Development Agency and any other supportive government agency to achieve the directives outlined in this document.
Organization of the Master Plan 2020 Document
There are many different structures that can be used to develop a Master Plan, which is the same as saying there is no official standard format. There are recommended templates and examples of master plans developed by other New York State municipalities. However, the best approach is to develop a master plan that fits the needs of the municipality. Therefore the Village of Herkimer Planning Board reviewed recommended templates, numerous plans published by New York State municipalities, including the City of Utica, to determine the format of this Master Plan.
The primary goal of the Master Plan 2020 is to provide the future vision of the Village of Herkimer with as much reinforcing and supportive documentation as possible, including select content from prior plans that remain applicable.
The document starts with extracted segments describing the History and Topography of the Village as provided in the historic Master Plan (1962). There is no change in either topic since its original publishing and the Planning Board felt it adds depth to the profile of the Village and does not detract from the purpose of the Master Plan 2020.
It was considered important that the Master Plan 2020 include as much statistical information as possible, leveraging the available content both from government agencies as well as select content that exist on-line where applicable value can be derived. As much as possible the statistical content is specific to the Village of Herkimer, but content is also specific to the Town of Herkimer where it brings value to understanding the overall profile of the Village of Herkimer.
Justifiably the largest section follows to define the Future Profile of the Village of Herkimer, which is sequenced in its delivery from a graphical profile of the vision of the Village of Herkimer; to the details of the input gathering process using the Master Plan 2020 Village Profile Survey; followed by the Master Plan 2020 Village Profile Survey Results; and culminating in the outlining of the future Village Profile presented using the Characteristic Groups introduced in the Village Profile Survey.
For each of the Characteristic Groups in the Village Profile there will be a suggested set of actions, along with the Village organization(s) expected to participate in the execution of those actions. These organizations are provided as a suggestion and it may be later determined that the organizations noted are not necessary to be involved, as well as others not identified requiring direct or indirect involvement.
All active plans require some form of tactical execution by putting a timeline in place of how it will progress from vision to reality. The final section of the Master Plan 2020 is the Phasing of the Master Plan 2020, which presents a suggestive staging of the Action Points identified in each of the Characteristic Groups presented.
The primary goal of the Master Plan 2020 is to provide the future vision of the Village of Herkimer with as much reinforcing and supportive documentation as possible, including select content from prior plans that remain applicable.
The document starts with extracted segments describing the History and Topography of the Village as provided in the historic Master Plan (1962). There is no change in either topic since its original publishing and the Planning Board felt it adds depth to the profile of the Village and does not detract from the purpose of the Master Plan 2020.
It was considered important that the Master Plan 2020 include as much statistical information as possible, leveraging the available content both from government agencies as well as select content that exist on-line where applicable value can be derived. As much as possible the statistical content is specific to the Village of Herkimer, but content is also specific to the Town of Herkimer where it brings value to understanding the overall profile of the Village of Herkimer.
Justifiably the largest section follows to define the Future Profile of the Village of Herkimer, which is sequenced in its delivery from a graphical profile of the vision of the Village of Herkimer; to the details of the input gathering process using the Master Plan 2020 Village Profile Survey; followed by the Master Plan 2020 Village Profile Survey Results; and culminating in the outlining of the future Village Profile presented using the Characteristic Groups introduced in the Village Profile Survey.
For each of the Characteristic Groups in the Village Profile there will be a suggested set of actions, along with the Village organization(s) expected to participate in the execution of those actions. These organizations are provided as a suggestion and it may be later determined that the organizations noted are not necessary to be involved, as well as others not identified requiring direct or indirect involvement.
All active plans require some form of tactical execution by putting a timeline in place of how it will progress from vision to reality. The final section of the Master Plan 2020 is the Phasing of the Master Plan 2020, which presents a suggestive staging of the Action Points identified in each of the Characteristic Groups presented.