As improvements come to Wolf’s Crossing, Oswego eyes future of land along road

Oswego may take a concentrated look at what the future holds for land along Wolf’s Crossing Road.

The discussion comes in the midst of a multi-year plan to improve Wolf’s Crossing Road to help ease traffic congestion, improve safety and accommodate growth in town, village officials said.

The overall project will turn Wolf’s Crossing into a modern, four-lane road in Oswego, according to officials.

Oswego trustees as a committee of the whole recently discussed the level of interest from developers for sites along the road and whether it was time to update the village’s 2015 comprehensive plan or proceed with a separate plan for the Wolf’s Crossing Road area instead.

Oswego’s comprehensive plan provides projections up to 2025, Oswego Development Services Director Rod Zenner said.

In all, village staff provided three options for trustees to consider.

An updated comprehensive plan could “capture current market trends and the vision” of the village to establish new goals for land use, staff members said. However, they said the process would take about two years to complete and would cost approximately $150,000.

A corridor plan for the Wolf’s Crossing area is described as a “focused land use plan” that follows the same principles as a full plan update. It would involve a consultant providing analysis of the existing conditions, a review of existing and projected market demands and public input regarding goals for the area.

The process for a corridor plan would take about a year to complete and cost an estimated $75,000, staff members said.

A third option would have staff conduct an analysis of the Wolf’s Crossing Road area based on the comprehensive plan. The analysis would be a specific “scorecard” for development along Wolf’s Crossing that would identify land uses and densities for development, Zenner said.

“As development proposals are brought to the village for review, their merits will be compared to the scorecard to determine if the proposed development is appropriate,” he said.

The analysis could be done quickly to address the immediate demands of development along the road and not require a consultant or additional funding, Zenner said.

The area north and south of Wolf’s Crossing Road is in a district zoned for medium density residential projects which involve two to three units per acre, Zenner said.

Staff recommended the village implement the scorecard analysis immediately and simultaneously proceed with either the corridor plan or an update of the village’s overall land use plan.

A proposed analysis of housing types, housing stock and affordability is something the village is considering as a well. The housing analysis could be wrapped into the comprehensive plan, village officials said.

“An element that’s getting lost in all this is that we want a plan for the whole Wolfs Crossing Corridor,” Oswego Village President Ryan Kauffman said. “The corridor plan will give us a much more comprehensive picture than just housing which is obviously important, but we need to look at the whole corridor than just the housing aspect.”

A housing study and corridor plan could be components of the overall comprehensive plan, Kauffman said.

“We have all of these elements that we all agree need to be done,” he said. “How do we stitch them together.”

Trustee Karin McCarthy-Lange was supportive of a corridor plan.

“I would like to see a corridor plan before we get to a comprehensive plan,” she said.

“I think we should do the housing study,” Trustee Tom Guist said. “We’re in a tight budget, it’s something staff recommends and it’s the hottest thing we have debated on this board.”

Kauffman advocated for both the housing study and corridor plan.

“We get both of these elements done and then they become pieces of the pie in the comprehensive plan,” Kauffman said. “The comprehensive plan won’t cost as much when we inevitably do it.”

No formal vote was taken on the matter. Village staff will bring back to the board the estimated costs associated with a corridor study and a comprehensive plan update.

Linda Girardi is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.