Glen Cove awarded smart growth funds | Long Island Business News

The City of Glen Cove was awarded $150,000 from New York State’s Smart Growth Community Planning Program, which is designed to help facilitate walkable downtowns, small businesses, affordable housing and more.

The funding is part of $3 million awarded to 15 communities. The program provides grants to communities to develop municipal and county-wide comprehensive plans, municipal zoning ordinances and targeted area plans and zoning ordinances.

“The Department of State offers a robust suite of community planning and development programs that are transforming neighborhoods in every region of the state,” New York State Secretary of State Walter Mosley said in a news release about the funding.

“New York State is experiencing an unprecedented renaissance in community revitalization and economic development, in part fueled by these essential programs,” he added. “I congratulate these communities for joining in the wave of revitalization sweeping across the Empire State.”

Awarded communities must commit to incorporating smart-growth principles into their planning and zoning. These principles include walkable, bikeable, transit-friendly streetscapes; compact, mixed-use community design; vibrant downtowns and other municipal centers; a diversity of housing options for all incomes, ages and abilities; safe, accessible public spaces; ample parks and outdoor recreational opportunities; and clean energy, among others.

Glen Cove was awarded the funding to achieve key goals of the recently adopted 2024 Smart Growth Comprehensive Plan with Sustainability Elements. Amendments to zoning, land use, building, and environmental regulations will implement the plan. The city will direct the funding to incentivize affordable, first-time-homebuyer and senior mixed-use redevelopment near train stations and the waterfront; facilitate new business openings, especially downtown; and make Glen Cove more sustainable and resilient.

Funding for the program was included in Round XIV of the Regional Economic Development Council Initiative. The REDC process is designed to support regional stakeholders in developing strategic plans and funding priorities that meet local economic needs. Regional councils reviewed projects from this program and provided scores that reflect how well a project aligns with a region’s goals and strategies.

The awards are funded through the state’s Environmental Protection Fund, which increased from $300 million to $400 million in 2022. The Department of State, through the Environmental Protection Fund, provides matching grants on a competitive basis to eligible entities.