| DOWNTOWN ONTARIO |
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| Vision P lan and Des ign Pr inc iples |
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| Town of Ontario, Wayne County, New York |
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| Introduction |
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| The Town of Ontario is one of the fastest growing |
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| communities in Wayne County. Despite an |
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| increase in population, however, there has been a |
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| steady decline in the function and utilization of the |
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| Downtown Ontario business district, once a thriving |
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| center of commerce and community social life. |
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| While the downtown still retains much of its older |
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| building fabric and many attractive human-scale |
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| characteristics, vehicular traffic has been drawn to |
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| nearby Route 104 and other commercial areas. |
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| Concern about the appearance and economic |
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| vitality led to the formation of a Business |
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| Improvement District (BID) to provide the |
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| mechanism and support for downtown revitalization. |
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| Working in collaboration with the Town of Ontario |
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| and the Wayne County Planning Department, |
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| the BID steering committee determined that a |
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| vision plan would help refine and focus their list of |
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| opportunities, needs, ideas and potential projects |
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| into a revitalization strategy. |
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| The Vision Planning Process |
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| Vision planning is an interactive participatory process that
is open to all community members. Through dialogue |
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| and collaboration, participants uncover or create common
values upon which to develop a shared vision for the |
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| future of their community. An advisory committee composed of
local merchants, residents, and Town officials |
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| helped develop and guide the vision planning process for
Downtown Ontario. |
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| The vision planning process in Ontario occurred through a
series of three workshops held in the fall of 2007 |
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| and winter of 2008, each designed to progressively build
upon and confirm information and ideas expressed by |
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| community members. Faculty and students from the SUNY
College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNYESF) |
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| Center for Community Design Research (CCDR) collaborated
with the advisory committee to facilitate the |
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| workshops, prepare summaries and analysis of each session
and to document the final vision plan. |
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| The Vision Plan and Design Principles |
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| The Downtown Ontario Vision Plan and Design Principles are
the result of this community-based planning effort |
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| and will help guide decisions for the downtown business
district. The Vision Plan is composed of a vision
statement, |
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| which describes the community’s desired future for the
downtown business district, and a series of goals and |
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| action strategies that when implemented will contribute to
achievement of the vision. The Design Principles define |
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| characteristics to create a physically cohesive, lively, and
pedestrian-friendly downtown. Since there is no one way |
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| to accomplish a vision, additional strategies may emerge
through continued community dialogue and experience |
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| working on projects. This document should be shared broadly
throughout the community to help community |
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| members understand and visualize their shared goals.The
detailed development of the vision plan, including |
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| workshop activities, community assessments, mapping and
analyses, is documented in a separate Downtown |
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| Ontario Vision Planning Notebook. |
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| STATEMENT |
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| VISION |
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| Downtown Ontario will be a welcoming and thriving mixed-use
business district that is |
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| well connected and integral to the Town of Ontario’s
community life. Its carefully designed |
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| and well-maintained buildings and outdoor spaces will be
filled with a complimentary mix |
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| of businesses and gathering places that encourage regular
patronage by residents and |
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| frequent stops by visitors. Its small town character and
unique details will contribute to the |
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| community’s identity and support walking, window-shopping
and friendly interaction. |
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| GOALS |
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| 1. Provide opportunities for the entire community to
participate in the revitalization of Downtown Ontario. |
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| 2. Encourage the establishment and viability of small
businesses and land uses appropriate to the scale of |
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| Downtown Ontario that contribute to the mix of uses that
community residents will want to patronize on a |
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| regular basis. |
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| 3. Reestablish downtown as a place of community gathering,
socializing, and celebrating where people feelwelcome and
engaged. |
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| 4. Respect and utilize the history, and historic structures
and features of Ontario to establish the character |
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| and image of the downtown district. |
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| 5. Continue efforts to promote the care and maintenance of
public and private property in downtown. |
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| 6. Provide clear, safe vehicular, pedestrian and bicycle
access to downtown and create a pedestrian |
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| oriented environment to encourage walking and strolling
within the downtown district. |
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| & STRATEGIES |
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| GOAL 1. Provide opportunities for the entire community to
participate in |
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| the revitalization of Downtown Ontario. |
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| Strategies: |
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| • Encourage the Town Board to adopt the Downtown Vision Plan
and to follow-up with necessary regulatory |
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| enforcement and changes to support its implementation. |
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| • Establish a vision steering committee to oversee and guide
implementation of the Vision Plan. |
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| • Promote effective and regular communication between the
BID, community organizations and the town |
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| government to share news, ideas and initiatives related to
the downtown. |
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| • Publicize and distribute the Vision Plan broadly
throughout the town. |
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| Vision, Goals, and Action Strategies |
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| GOAL 2. Encourage the establishment and viability |
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| of small businesses and land uses appropriate to |
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| the scale of Downtown Ontario that contribute to the |
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| mix of uses that community residents will want to |
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| patronize on a regular basis. |
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| Strategies: |
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| • Prepare a feasibility study to relocate a key |
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| municipal building, such as a library, town court or |
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| town offices into the downtown district, to better |
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| understand space needs, benefits and costs, and |
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| possible locations. |
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| • Prepare a coordinated marketing campaign geared |
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| primarily to town residents to promote existing |
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| downtown businesses and Downtown Ontario, |
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| highlighting the importance of a thriving Downtown |
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| Ontario to the town’s economy and quality of life. |
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| • Prepare a market analysis to determine appropriate |
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| businesses and uses, starting with those shared |
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| and described by community members during the |
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| vision planning process. |
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| • Research and document the challenges that |
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| start-up businesses have faced in starting up in |
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| downtown, prepare strategies and implement |
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| changes to address those challenges. |
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| GOAL 3. Reestablish downtown as a place of |
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