Tonight (2017-11-01) was a Honeoye Falls Zoning Workshop.
Held at the High School Auditorium, in anticipation of a large audience. Turns out attendance was low enough that we could have stayed at the village office. Still, better to be prepared and not need the space, then have to turn people away due to overcrowding.
The presentation itself had little to no new information for me. General overview of zoning, general overview of what is ‘wrong’ with current zoning, general overview of plan to ‘improve’ zoning. As I’ve been watching both this process, and the formation of the group that is undertaking this task, little of that is new. If all goes as expected, there will be updates to the Village Zoning Code sometime this winter. As ‘winter’ is a bit vague, and delays may creep in, I anticipate output from this group by May 2018. Mind you, that is my projection, not their stated deadline.
During the presentation I observed a number of interesting things:
Approximately half the people in attendance are employed by the Village. Either as full time staff or part time board members.
Approximately 1/3 of those in attendance were NOT staff, board, or committee members. In other words, there were maybe five (5) people that fit under the umbrella of ‘general public’.
The presentation was streamed direct to Facebook. I have not watched the video, but I applaud the Village for making the effort.
The data presented imply people want to live in a dense environment, with little open space between objects. Not my idea of good living situation, but I tend to be in the minority at this sort of thing.
As happens, amusing statements were made. One that stood out to me was the idea that ‘just because it’s important doesn’t mean it has to be in the code’. The idea that some things can be left alone, as they will work out without needing government intervention. Always good to hear, especially from those whose job is to encourage that intervention.
After the presentation, the group broke up to stick orange circles on posters and discuss among themselves. While I appreciate the attempts to gather input, considering who was there, and the presentation beforehand, I have to wonder how much value there is. But it’s something, and I did have the opportunity to encourage some of those involved to KISS.
Regardless, I am glad to see the effort being taken here. Too soon to weigh the outcome, but this task is long overdue. I’m glad it’s being done.
And those are my Observations From Audience Land for the November 01, 2017 meeting for a Honeoye Falls Zoning Workshop.