Rockland County Begins Comprehensive Plan Update

Rockland County Executive Ed Day is pleased to announce that the County of Rockland has officially begun the process of updating its Countywide Comprehensive Plan. The County Executive and the County Legislature will officially kick-off the initiative with the selected project consultant team in January. The plan’s development will be overseen by the County Planning Department and guided by a Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) and a Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC), ensuring both technical expertise and community input shape this critical undertaking.

County Executive Day emphasized the importance of establishing a comprehensive plan to ensure projects are conducted in the best manner possible to maintain and improve the quality of life for current Rockland residents and future generations.

“The preparation, adoption and use of an updated Comprehensive Plan is one of the highest priorities for this County,” said County Executive Day. “This update is essential to shaping a unified vision for Rockland County as a whole, guiding future sustainable development and investment within the County, and protecting the County’s natural resources for generations of Rocklanders.”

While the TAC will be represented by various County departments, the County Legislature, and the County Executive’s office, the CAC is intended to represent a broad cross-section of the community. This will include school districts and higher education, chambers of commerce, economic development agencies, local and regional housing experts, tourism and business representatives, the arts and entertainment community, religious institutions and clergy, local and regional environmental and climate experts, library associations, historic preservation professionals and boards, municipal and community-based organizations serving seniors, youth and economically disadvantaged residents, municipal and community leaders and members of the general public.

If a resident or member of an agency is interested in serving on the CAC, they may send a brief cover letter with resume to rcplan@co.rockland.ny.us by Jan 17, 2025. The intent is for the CAC to meet in February.

“The formation of these committees will be critical to the creation and implementation of the community and stakeholder engagement strategy for the project,” said Acting Commissioner of Planning Doug Schuetz. “We are excited to get started on this important project and look forward to working with residents as we help shape the future of Rockland County.”

The Plan update will establish a long-term vision and priorities for Rockland County and be used to set policies and goals for land use and zoning decisions as well as update the three parts of the county official maps (drainage, highways, environmental).

Since the previous plan Rockland Tomorrow was adopted in 2011, there have been significant changes in development trends, demographics, policies, and procedures. In addition, there are on-going County initiatives that focus on economic growth, housing, water resources, climate change, hazard mitigation, community attractiveness, sustainability, resiliency and more.

The project will be conducted over the next 18 months in conjunction with the primary consultant team of BFJ Planning (Buckhurst, Fish and Jacquemart, Inc.) of New York, NY, along with Urbanomics of New York, NY, Arch Street Communications of Tarrytown, NY, and McLaren Engineering of Woodcliff Lake, NJ (formerly of West Nyack, NY).

BFJ Planning has more than 35 years of experience in preparing comprehensive plans throughout New York, particularly in the Hudson Valley region. Urbanomics has served businesses and government in the areas of economics, public finance and urban planning for nearly 40 years. Arch Street Communications has provided public relations and engagement services for more than 30 years, and the McLaren Engineering Group brings local expertise to the comprehensive plan project, with nearly 50 years of experience. BFJ, Urbanomics and McLaren all assisted Rockland County in completing its last Comprehensive Plan update in 2011. 

The consultants were hired through a competitive bidding process, and the project is expected to cost approximately $870,000. County ARPA funds were utilized for the comprehensive plan effort.