A subcommittee of the Lake Placid-North Elba Community Development Commission has been reviewing the village-town joint land use code for the past few months. The land use code is a lengthy document that essentially outlines what can be built, and where, plus standards for buildings and signage. It’s an immensely important document because it underpins the work of the local code enforcement office and informs future development here.

The last time the Lake Placid-North Elba land use code was reviewed and substantially rewritten was in 2011.

A public meeting, where members of the subcommittee will elaborate on some of the changes they’ve been discussing, is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 24.

Residents can attend virtually by visiting https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/625413165 or calling 1-872-240-3412, access code 625-413-165. After a short presentation, the subcommittee will be available to answer any questions.

The Community Development Commission would need to submit its proposals to the town and village, the two governments would need to host public hearings, and the village and town boards would need to vote on the proposals before any changes would go into effect.

Dean Dietrich, chairman of the Community Development Commission, offered up a few ideas the committee was toying with during a joint meeting between the village Board of Trustees and North Elba Town Council in April. At that time, the suggestions included:

– Allow income-based housing developments to be built taller, up to 45 feet.

– Impose standards for lawn signs.

– Change the definition of “marina” to mean anyone with more than one docked boat not owned by them.

– Require that floating docks be encapsulated to cut down on debris in lakes.

– Streamline the signage approval process.

– Standardize construction hours between the village and the town.

– Allow businesses to build expansions farther into the required setback.

– Update requirements for boathouses.

– Allow wastewater systems to be installed less than 300 feet from the shoreline if that distance isn’t possible.

– Update the invasive species list.

– Impose a new permit expiration rule that will require people to apply for a permit renewal if their project’s work isn’t completed in three years.

Separate from this code review process, Dietrich told the village board and town council that the joint comprehensive plan is being looked at, too. The comprehensive plan lays out the broad vision, while the land-use code gives detailed rules to uphold those priorities. The comprehensive plan is essentially a road map to guide future development here, based on what kind of place community members want Lake Placid to be, from public transportation to housing. The last time the comprehensive plan here was updated was in 2014.

People who have served on the land use code review committee include Dietrich, village Mayor Art Devlin, planning consultant Liz Clarke, state Adirondack Park Agency Special Assistant for Economic Affairs Dan Kelleher, village Trustee Jackie Kelly, Darci LaFave and Michael Orticelle from the town Code Enforcement Office, North Elba town Councilor Emily Politi, town-village Joint Review Board lawyer Tim Smith, GIS map technician Patrick Wells and North Elba Community Development Director Haley Breen.