This text was taken from an email alert sent out on Sept. 16, 2024. Sign up for email alerts →

Dear Supporter,

The Town of Orange is seeking input from residents on its Comprehensive Plan, next Monday, Sept. 23, at a community meeting hosted by the Town of Orange Planning Commission. The chance to update the Comprehensive Plan only comes around every five years, so if you care about making Orange an even better place to live, you should definitely attend!

The Comprehensive Plan is a critically important document that represents the community’s vision for the future of Orange. It sets the framework for how land is used, identifies needed improvements to public facilities and programs, and it guides policy priorities and decisions around growth and development for the next 5–20 years.

We hope that as new land use proposals come before the town, the updated Comprehensive Plan will help steer future economic growth and residential development, including affordable housing, into the town’s existing developed areas. PEC believes a mix of redevelopment and infill, developing vacant or underutilized parcels within existing developed areas, helps to improve infrastructure and quality of life for residents while preserving a town’s architectural assets.

The Town Wants to Hear From You

As a resident, you now have the chance to weigh in on the updated Comprehensive Plan, which will shape how Orange moves forward over the next 20 years. A lot is at stake, including how we will protect natural resources, ensure a healthy and vibrant quality of life and thriving economy for everyone, address the impacts of a changing environment, and preserve the town’s rural, historic character. Review the draft updates → 

The community meeting is designed to help the Town Planner and the Planning Commission better understand community needs and priorities, especially on: 

• Economy
• Public Facilities/Infrastructure
• Education
• Transportation
• Architectural Assets and Aesthetics
• Environment 
• Town-County Partnerships
• Public Safety/Fire and Rescue/Community Health/Government
• Arts
• Population/Demographics/Housing
• Recreation

Planning Commissioners will welcome everyone to the meeting and give a brief overview of the process before inviting attendees to move around the room and visit different tables focused on these topics. You can visit each table, hear what the Planning Commission is proposing and respond in real time to the representative at that table. They hope to collect the feedback and continue working on a draft into the winter, but this may be one of the only chances to have this level of direct engagement in the process. There will be no online or virtual component to this event.

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Please share this email with friends, family and neighbors so more voices can be heard early on. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out, and I hope to see you on Sept. 23.

Sincerely,

Don McCown 
Land Use Field Representative 
Orange & Madison Counties
[email protected] 
(434) 977-2033 x7047