Jefferson County Planning Department

Department of Planning

Donald R. Canfield, Director
175 Arsenal Street
Watertown, New York 13601
Phone: (315) 785-3144 Fax: (315) 785-5092

The Department serves as technical staff to the County and its municipalities primarily in four major categories:

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County Planning and Economic Development

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Community Planning and Development

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Resource and Environmental Management

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Information, Demographic and Data Services

In support of a multitude of specific County programs, staff provides project development and administration, grant writing, and research and analysis services. Specific program areas include: Community Development Block Grants, North Country HOME Consortium, Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) Committee, County Planning Board administration, Geographic Information System (GIS) Services, Fort Drum-related growth and development technical services, Agriculture and Farmland Protection Board administration, and Demographic\Census services. Many other County-wide project and program areas are also administered.

Also, the Department provides local government technical assistance to various town and village boards in the development and implementation of comprehensive plans, land use regulations, and community and economic development plans and strategies.

These services are intended to assist and guide efforts at both the County and local levels, to develop and implement planning and development programs which will have positive impacts on the area's economy, environment, rural character and land uses.

Donald R. Canfield, AICP, Director
Andy R. Nevin, AICP, Senior Planner
Michael J. Bourcy, Community Development Coordinator
Jennifer L. Voss, Community Development Coordinator
Michelle H. Bunny, GIS Specialist
Lori J. Thomas, Senior Stenographer

COUNTY PLANNING AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG)

The Department manages the County's CDBG program. Staff undertakes program planning, application development, and Federal and State administration and reporting requirements for various CDBG funded programs. Over $10 million has been received through the Department's involvement with the program. Recent awards from the NYS Office for Community Renewal include $600,000 to initiate County government's first housing rehabilitation assistance program for eligible homeowners. In addition, over $1 million was received during 2005 and 2006 to create the County's first-time homebuyer program. The County partners with local non-profit housing providers in the administration of these programs. Both of the housing programs were initialted to help address community housing needs in response to growth pressures resulting from the expansion of Fort Drum.

Previous awards include a $750,000 award for training costs associated with Stream, Inc., a local customer relationship call center in Watertown, and $600,000 for rehabilitation of the North Country Children's Center health clinic in downtown Watertown. Several other economic development awards have also been obtained that are supporting microenterprise and industrial development revolving loan funds in the community.

HOME Consortium

The three county (Jefferson, St. Lawrence, Lewis) North Country HOME Consortium continues to operate under authorization established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The Department of Planning has an administrative role in support of Jefferson County's status as the lead county. Since its inception in 1994, the Consortium has distributed over $20 million in local housing assistance to local not-for-profit housing providers. During 2008, the County led a three county process to file an application for reauthorization of the Consortium for the period 2009 through 2011. This reauthorization will enable the local municipalities and non-profit housing providers to apply for housing assistance funds in over 100 communities in the region. In 2008, the Consortium distributed just under $1.4 million in new awards to seven housing providers.

County Planning Board

The Department provides staff assistance on a monthly basis in support of the County Planning Board's authorized functions. In addition to monthly meeting administration, most of the Department's assistance is dedicated to NYS General Municipal Law, section 239-m project reviews for development projects and local zoning actions referred by municipalities.

Click here to view:

County Planning Board Schedule

NYS General Municipal Law Section 239-m Summary

County Planning Board Referral Form (pdf)

County Planning Board 2010 Newsletter (pdf)

Fort Drum Growth Management Assistance

The Department is active in a number of technical assistance projects related to land use and encroachment management, housing, and force structure initiatives occurring at Fort Drum. The Fort Drum Regional Liaison Organization (FDRLO) is sponsoring a Growth Management Project with the assistance of the Department and other local agencies to inventory, analyze and model tri-county growth impacts resulting from the addition of brigade elements and soldiers at Fort Drum. Additional information on this project is aviailable at

www.fdrlo.org/growth.html

. Other sample tasks under this category include maintenance of a Housing Construction database, production of GIS maps related to Fort Drum growth impact, and coordination with Federal and State interests on growth impact issues.

Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) Committee

The Department provides staff assistance to the CEDS Committee, which develops and maintains Jefferson County CEDS Plan for use by various agencies in their economic development programs. The Committee's work includes partnerships with the Jefferson County Job Development Corporation (JCJDC), and other local economic development interests to identify and promote local economic development strategies. The Department also coordinates with the Federal Economic Development Administration (EDA) on behalf of the CEDS Committee to profile and endorse local capital projects that might be eligible for funding assistance.

Click here to view:

Economic Indicators for Jefferson County

Latest CEDS Committee Plan

COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT

As resources permit, the Department provides staff assistance to Jefferson County communities in support of their land use, comprehensive planning, and community development projects.

Click here to see an unofficial list of local land use controls adopted by Towns

Click here to see an unofficial list of local land use controls adopted by Villages

The Department is currently providing assistance to the Villages of Dexter, Ellisburg and Cape Vincent and the towns of LeRay, Hounsfield, Orleans and Philadelphia. The office also assists with the coordination of several training opportunities each year for local municipal planning officials.

Development Site Research and Analysis

The Department often coordinates with local and state development organizations to aid with research and assessment of potential development sites. The Department utilizes maps and GIS resources to help identify sites meeting specific criteria such as conditions related to utilities, location/zoning characteristics and natural resource features as requested by development prospects.

RESOURCE AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

Agriculture

The Department manages administration of the County Agriculture Districts Program, which includes nearly 190,000 acres of land in three separate Districts in the County. These Districts offer a number of benefits to agricultural landowners to encourage continued agriculture production and activities. Under NYS Department of Agriculture and Markets guidelines, the Department is responsible for undertaking periodic comprehensive reviews of the viability of each District. In addition, local landowners have a 30 day period in June to request addition of viable agricultural property to any of the County's three consolidated Districts.

Through administrative support to the County's Agricultural and Farmland Protection Board, the Department also assists with maintenance and implementation of the County's Agriculture and Farmland Protection Plan. Most recently, the Department has worked in concert with the American Farmland Trust, the County Agriculture Coordinator, and others to implement a Purchase of Development Rights program that will utilize voluntary agriculture conservation easements to protect important agricultural lands from non-farm conversion.

Click here to view:

Map of the Jefferson County Agricultural Districts (pdf)

Jefferson County Right to Farm Law

Jefferson County Agricultural and Farmland Protection Plan (pdf)

Snowmobile Grant-In-Aid Program

The Department works with snowmobile clubs and administers this NYS grant pass-through program on behalf of the County. The 2007-2008 grant will be the 17th consecutive year that the County has participated in the program to enable access to trail maintenance funds.

County Recreational Trail System Planning and Coordination

The Department provides technical assistance, as requested, to the County Soil and Water Conservation District for recreational trail planning activities.

INFORMATION, DEMOGRAPHIC, AND DATA SERVICES

Geographic Information Services (GIS) Management and Implementation

Staff offers GIS services to the County through two major software platforms. First, the Department developed and oversees the County's on line, web-based map and parcel viewer which can be found at

www.jeffcountymaps.com

. The system operates on ArcGIS Server platform. Numerous data layers are can be viewed including aerial imagery, Agriculture District coverage, and existing land uses. The system is integrated with the County's Real Property parcel database. Secondly, the office maintains an ArcMap GIS platform in support of the digital map products required for Department programs, projects, and local community assistance.

Census 2010

The Department leads County efforts in municipal preparation for the 2010 Census. The Office coordinated County and local participation in the Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA) to improve the Census Bureau's database of addresses throughout the County and on Fort Drum. The office will also participate in the 2010 Participant Statistical Areas Program (PSAP) to suggest any changes in Census geography boundaries.

Population Estimates

The Planning Department has worked to challenge three annual U.S. Census Bureau population estimates over the past five year period. The County believes its large military population affects the accuracy of the Census Bureau's standard annual estimating methodology. As a result of the County's challenges, several thousand residents have been added to the Bureau's original estimates.

General Technical Assistance

Staff responds to hundreds of technical assistance and informational inquiries from the general public, local businesses, the development community, and other governmental agencies. These requests typically cover a broad range of topics, such as Census information, environmental and development requirements, economic demographics, and grant opportunities.