SmartCode Plattsburgh
New Draft City of Plattsburgh Unified Development Code
The April 16, 2026 Unified Development Code was presented to the Common Council on April 16, 2026. The Code requires a few additional revisions and is expected to be accepted by the Common Council in May to begin the formal public and agency review process.
*** Stay Tuned for More Information ***
Project Background
The City of Plattsburgh is excited to announce that it is conducting a wide-ranging update of the City’s zoning, subdivision, and related land use regulations. This is the first step in implementing the City’s Comprehensive Plan, which identifies over 35 objectives, policies, and implementation recommendations related to land use regulations to guide the city forward. The City’s Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LWRP) will also guide regulatory updates.
The City of Plattsburgh has engaged the services of LaBella Associates, Regrowth Planning, and Sidekick Creative to assist with the code update. A Project Advisory Committee (PAC) has been established to work with the LaBella Team. The PAC will meet on a monthly basis to prepare and review new and updated land use regulations to implement the Comprehensive Plan and LWRP and react to land use and development changes and pressures in the City. See below for additional information on the Project Team and PAC.
The success of this update will depend in part on input from the community to fully identify the community’s needs and expectations for development and building regulation. Therefore, the update process will involve several opportunities for the public to participate, including community workshops, design charrettes, stakeholder meetings, and online engagement. As the project progresses, this page will be your primary source for information related to the Code Update, including project documents and new or upcoming public outreach opportunities.
The current zoning code is a typical Euclidean Code with emphasis on land use separation and density control. The update to the zoning code would take an in-depth analysis of the code and modernize it to fit the goals, policies, and implementation strategies of the city’s updated comprehensive plan. The City aims to prepare a land use planning and regulatory approach that positions the community to welcome and foster new residents and businesses, while preserving and improving quality of life. In addition to these objectives, other overarching goals illustrated within the recent draft Comprehensive Plan include: placemaking and beautification of public spaces, promoting sustainably increased density, increasing flexibility in housing regulations, improving and encouraging diverse transportation models including walkability and biking, and embracing neighborhood-scale mixed use developments. The draft Comprehensive Plan recommends consideration of a hybrid form-based code approach to achieve these goals.
Stay tuned for info on how you can get involved.
Project Documentation
Click "Sign Up" in the upper righthand corner to recieve regular updates on future meetings and when documents are released for public input!
Have questions? Email us at: smartcodeplattsburgh@labellapc.com
LaBella Associates:
- Matthew Rogers, Sr. Planner, Project Manager
- Katherine Powers, Planner
Subconsultants:
PAC Monthly Meetings:
The monthly PAC meetings are scheduled to meet virtually via Zoom on the 4th Tuesday of the month, from 5pm to 6:30pm beginning after the April 26, 2023 kickoff meeting until the Final Draft of the Zoning Update is completed.
PAC Meeting webinar Link:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84149448749?pwd=IFAlDmydsMHJrnpO3o8OVzCrmqakVA.4lzF3GVregwSDIlB
- Meeting notes can be found above on this site.
- Meetings are recorded and available upon request.
Current PAC Member List:
- Shelise Marbut- (Former)
- Kyle Burdo- Building Code Inspector
- James Welch - Code Inspector
- Joe McMahon- Chief Building Code Inspector
- Jim Abdallah - Planning Board Chair
- Abby Meuser-Herr - Planning Board member
- Scott Demane- Zoning Board Chair
- Susan Matton- VP of Economic Development North Country Chamber of Commerce
- Karl Weiss- County Engineer
- Trevor Cole- Town of Plattsburgh Community Development Director/ Sr. Planner
- Jessica Kogut- Town of Plattsburgh Sr. Planner
- Elizabeth Jent- Zoning Board member
- Bransen Duke- Plattsburgh High School student (Former)
- Julie Baughn - Ward 1 Councilor (Former)
- Caitlin Bopp- former Ward 5 Councilor (Former)
- Kellie Porter - Zoning Board member (Former)
Open for participation
Phases
Code Analysis & Stakeholder Meetings
Code Analysis & Stakeholder Meetings
July 25, 2023
- Code Analysis: The City's Land Use Laws will be evaluated for consistency with the 2022 Comprehensive Plan recommendations, to identify outmoded regulatory practices and inconsistencies, and to identify opportunities for improvements.
- Best Practices Analysis: The Project Team will evaluate appropriate best practices & research emerging trends & development approaches to guide potential solutions.
- Focus Group/Stakeholder Meetings: The Project Team will meet with several stakeholders to discuss issues with the current land use laws from their perspective and to identify opportunities for improvements.
- Draft and Revised Findings Report: The Project Team will prepare a Findings Report detailing results from the Code and Best Practices Analysis and the Focus Group/Stakeholder meetings.
Upcoming and ongoing events
Past events
Event date: June 18th, 2024 from 10:00 PM to 11:30 PM.
4 registrants
Event date: April 17th, 2024 from 10:00 PM to 11:30 PM.
41 City Hall Place
9 registrants
Event date: January 10th, 2024 at 11:00 PM to January 11th, 2024 at 12:30 AM.
City Hall of Plattsburgh
1 registrant
Event date: October 18th, 2023 from 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM.
41 City Hall Place
8 registrants