Town of Stillwater Comprehensive Plan Update and GEIS 2021

PREFACE

The Town of Stillwater’s Comprehensive Plan & Final Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS) 2020 Update represents a multiyear effort that has involved numerous volunteers, input from countless residents, and the dedication of several Town employees. Many hours of meetings, site visits, research, and project coordination has gone into the creation of this document. While it is organized as a technical document, in accordance with New York’s State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), it is very much a community-oriented action plan that is intended to maintain community character and enhance the quality of life for all residents.

PROJECT BACKGROUND

Saratoga County is the fastest growing county in the state of New York, with the Town of Stillwater among the communities that is growing the most quickly. This is due, in part, to such investments in jobs and manufacturing as GlobalFoundries, which is situated on the municipal boundary between the Towns of Stillwater and Malta. When planning for GlobalFoundries, and the encompassing Luther Forest Technology Campus (LFTC), began several years ago, both host communities prepared accordingly. This included robust environmental reviews, preparing new land use regulations, developing supporting infrastructure, and mitigating potential impacts. Beyond the footprint of the LFTC and its environs, both communities also updated their comprehensive plans and subsequently prepared GEISs to mitigate the potential impacts of future growth. These plans were designed to address ten-year timeframes. During this period, these planning efforts have played a crucial role in guiding decisions and making investments holistically.

Today, the Town of Stillwater continues to experience a rate of growth that was envisioned in its planning documents; however, the ten-year planning window has passed. The Town has embarked on this update to guide future growth, prepare the Town for the future, ensure that growth proceeds in a manner that is desirable, and protect community character. To provide a single source of information, the Town has chosen to prepare a combined comprehensive plan and GEIS document.

HOW TO READ THIS DOCUMENT

While this Comprehensive Plan Update is organized in accordance with SEQRA, it constitutes Comprehensive Plan recommendations to meet the vision and goals identified by the Comprehensive Plan Committee (the “Committee”) through the planning process. More specifically, “mitigation” measures (as typically referenced in SEQR documents) represent the Comprehensive Plan Update recommendations and are intended to articulate the Town of Stillwater’s approach to addressing potential impacts that may result from future growth, to maintain community character, and to enhance the quality of life for all its residents.