The Village of Cooperstown, in partnership with Otsego Now, is in the process of updating its Comprehensive Plan and preparing a Downtown Revitalization Strategy. Phase I of the project — Project Organization and Public Outreach — was completed in January 2015. The first phase of the project was designed to gain a better understanding of the community’s strengths, weaknesses and areas in need of improvement. Outreach activities included a multi-day design charrette, stakeholder and focus group interviews, attendance at various community events, surveying residents and visitors throughout the downtown, and development of a project website.

Phase II of the project, which started in April 2015, builds on the information collected during the first phase and includes the development of a Comprehensive Plan and Downtown Revitalization Strategy. The goals of this project are to identify desired future land use patterns throughout the Village, and to identify realistic opportunities for business investment, and retail and business recruitment. The Plan will also identify potential projects stemming from the recent Main Street improvements, as well as selected areas including the Railroad Avenue District and Doubleday Field.

To date, the Steering Committee, working with Elan Planning and Design and the CLUE Group, have accomplished the following tasks as part of Phase II:

Public Engagement

  • Facilitation of a Community Open House, which was held at the Fire Hall on June 11th

Economic Development

  • Preparation of an Economic Development Market Analysis
  • Presentation of Market Analysis key findings by Kennedy Smith to economic development stakeholders on November 9th
  • Development of two (2) Sub District Area Master Plans that will provide a clear path to development of two key nodes: the Railroad Avenue District and Doubleday Field. Both Plans provide alternative development scenarios based on existing zoning. The Railroad Avenue Plan also includes a development capacity matrix, which explores both residential and office development of three strategic sites within the District.

Plan Development

  • Ten (10) Steering Committee Meetings, which included an economic development walking tour, work sessions to develop a Vision Statement, Goals and Recommendations, and preparation of a draft Future Land Use Map

Upcoming work includes the preparation of the draft Comprehensive Plan, a Community Open House on April 5th to get feedback on the Vision Statement, Goals, Recommendations and Future Land Use Map from the public, preparation of the Final Draft, State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) Process, and Plan adoption by the Village Board. The Steering Committee anticipates that the project will be completed during the summer of 2016.

For more information about the project, or to view a copy of the Phase I report, click here to visit the project website.