Ogden ready to present Open Space plan to public

Ogden ready to present Open Space plan to public
Meeting set for May 9

It's been a long time of meetings and research, but officials in the Town of Ogden are now prepared to present the "blueprint" for the town's open space and how it should be utilized.

The town put together a committee comprised of Town Councilman David Feeney, area farmers, members from the town's planning and zoning boards and residents to look at how the town can control its growth and keep its rural character intact. The committee was charged with looking at developing areas within the town while incorporating planned areas for open space.

Committee member and farmer Rod Stettner said, "Growth can't occur in a haphazard manner. One of the important tasks of the open space committee was that we have an evolving, working plan with a tremendous number of permutations of how space can be utilized in the town to keep it a desirable place to live in."

Councilman David Feeney said the formation of an open space plan didn't happen overnight. "It's a process that's been on-going for the past couple of years and came about as a result of the town's comprehensive plan that was adopted in 2003. It began with the compilation of questions for a survey that was distributed to the public. Once the survey was returned, results were analyzed and then the committee has been moving forward with objectives raised from the survey and input gathered from public information meetings.

Smart, controlled planned growth is what Feeney said the town wants to put forth.

Town Supervisor Gay Lenhard said the town has a draft of its open space plan and is prepared to present it to the public. "We spent a lot of time gathering input and meeting with the farmers, which we thought was an essential step, to gain their viewpoint on keeping the farmland viable," she said. "We're now ready to present the plan to the public and gain their input on future planning and growth within Ogden."

Lenhard said the committee believes it has a good sense of what the community is looking for in terms of growth because of the surveys and forums officials have hosted.

Following the meeting, Lenhard said, it will be back to the drawing board for officials and committee members to look at suggestions raised by the public at the forum. "We think we will have to look at making code changes within the town to accomplish what needs to be accomplished under this open space plan," she said. "We have to look to our codes as a way to manage growth and open space."

Lenhard said this has been an important undertaking for the town because they, like most communities, are beginning to recognize how "precious open spaces are" and they understand the need to keep those spaces viable.

"Fifty-seven percent (57%) of our town is open and because we are being proactive we have the luxury of being methodical in our approach to how our open spaces will be utilized," Lenhard said. "Other communities have their backs against the wall because their open spaces are filling up so quickly. From what we've heard, the community really wants to keep the rural flavor of the town but still be open to growth. It's a double edged sword - people want to live here because of the town's attributes, its rolling hills, open spaces, but on the other hand they want to bring in businesses to help pay taxes."

Lenhard said the open space plan will be a living document as is the town's comprehensive plan.

"If we leave no other legacy, it will be the time we put into making and following our open space plan to keep Ogden a beautiful place to live and raise our children. We aren't just letting things happen to the town, we are engineering a legacy of planned growth and development," she said.

The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 9 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Community Center Meeting room. The plan will be available prior to the meeting on the website www.ogdenny.com, at the Ogden Farmers' Library and the town clerk's office.