Economic Development
Economic Development is a very important component of proper public sector urban planning, and the Town's Planning and Zoning office also acts as the local economic development office in regards to planning for growth and economic vitality of the Town. The Town's major blueprint for Economic Development is the joint Economic Development Plan, completed in cordination with the Village of Lake George, and the APA (see below). The Town also works with the Warren County Economic Development Corporation and other relevant parties to encourage proper economic development.
Following the success of the Economic Development Plan's development, the Planning and Zoning Office has worked to implement several core components from the plan, including ushering in zoning amendments to spur mixed use and compact/smart growth style development, and improving or expanding infrastructure services, the latter of which is an ongoing endeavor. The Town's most recent success was the 2015-2017 Gateway Project on Route 9.
2023 Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) Application
New York State's Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) is a cornerstone of the State's economic development program. The DRI transforms downtown neighborhoods into vibrant centers that offer a high quality of life and are magnets for redevelopment, business, job creation, and economic and housing diversity.
The Town has, in partnership with the Village, formed a joint-committee of community and goverment leaders to work together to develop an application for the 2023 Downtown Revitalization Initiative (DRI) funding round. The committee is meeting montly until the fall of 2023 when an application will be submitted on behalf of the Town and Village. Several public meetings will be held during this time to include and engage the public in the application process and project identification.
The first OPEN HOUSE for DRI is scheduled for June 14, 2023 from 4-7pm at the Carriage House, Fort William Henry Hotel. The OPEN HOUSE will be an introduction to the DRI program and will solicit input from residents, homewoners, business owners and visitors alike. Attached is a flyer for the
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first OPEN HOUSE
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The DRI Committee, with assistance from their consultant, has also launched a new DRI website to keep the public up to date, informed, and interested. The website can be found here: https://www.lakegeorgedri.com/
More information can be found on the NYS website regarding the DRI program (https://www.ny.gov/programs/downtown-revitalization-initiative) and for additional information or inquiries regarding the Lake George effort, please contact the DRI Committee Chair, Dan Barusch.
2022 Bolton Road Sewer District Feasibility Study
In 2021, the Town of Lake George was awarded $30,000 from the EFC for an Engineering Planning Grant (EPG) to develop a feasibility study which would analyze the possibility of a new sewer district or expanded sewer service heading north along Lakeshore Drive.
The 2022 Feasibility Study will assess the potential to create an adjunct Sewer District, which would act in parallel to the Caldwell Sewer District, and run from the Village border (English Brook) north along Lakeshore Drive (Bolton Road) to the DEC's Hearthstone Park. The study will analyze the potential for public infrastructure to be installed along Route 9 and adjacent roadways, and consider the potential to add roughly 500 new properties to the public sewer system, reducing the quantity of on-site wastewater treatment systems in the Town and improving water quality of Lake George by removing over 100 septic systems from along the lakeshore properties.
The proposed sewer expansion project, still in the planning phases, would be part of a larger comprehensive road upgrade project to Lakeshore Drive, which would mirror the Gateway Project and also include a multi-use path, realigned water infrastructure, improved stormwater infrastructure, and additional pedestrian and multi-modal amenities.
2018 Lake George Draft Economic Development Plan
The Town and Village of Lake George, in coordination with the Adirondack Park Agency’s Hamlet Economic Planning and Assistance initiative, developed an economic development plan for the Hamlet areas of Lake George. The plan seeks to leverage improvements from the Gateway Project, which turned Route 9 from Exit 21 to the Village line into a boulevard with sidewalks, new lighting, a median, and bike lanes, to generate new growth in the community. In order to determine components of the plan, input from the community was sought through a survey.
2015-2018 Lake George Gateway Project
The Town's "Gateway Project" along Route 9, which was in planning from 2010 to 2015, and was finally implemented between 2015 and 2018, was the single largest infrastucture project the Town has been involved in since the creation of the Village infrastructure networks, and the largest "economic development undertaking" in recent memory. The NYS DOT, along with the FHWA, helped fund the project, as well as the NYS EFC through the Green Infrastructure Grant Program (GIGP).
The project spans roughly one mile on the strip of NYS Route 9 from the Village boundary along West Brook, south to the NYS Route 9N (exit 21) intersection, and added the Town's first complete street to the roadway inventory. The project was a total cost of over $7 million, but only about $300,000 to Town Taxpayers, and added sidewalks, lighting, stormwater controls, pedestrian infrastructure, a multi-use path (down 9L), a park-n-ride (off Exit 21), and othe pedestrian connections and amenities to the Town's most major thoroughfare. Most importantly, the project allowed for and encouraged a plethora of redevelopment opportunities and eventual projects, which will eventually create a new character to the Route 9 corridor and a possible "extension" of the Village's downtown core (Canada Street). More recently, the Town has adopted a Planned Unit Development (PUD) ordinance in the TC-A zoning district (along the Gateway Project) which would allow for and encourage more dense and vibrant projects, again bolstering economic development in that area.
Project plans and details for the Gateway Project can be viewed in the Town Hall, Planning and Zoning office.
Other Resources
APA Economic Services Unit – Website
Warren County EDC- Website