TOWN OF VILLAGE OF NEWSTEAD AND AKRON JOINT COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE PREPARED BY: WENDEL COMPANIES SPONSORED BY: ERIE COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT AND PLANNING AUGUST 2018 TOWN OF NEWSTEAD AND VILLAGE OF AKRON JOINT COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Town of Newstead and Village of Akron Joint Comprehensive Plan Update was made possible through the efforts of the following: Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee Kevin Shanley Akron Central School District Edmund Burke Town of Newstead Board Carl Klingenschmitt Town of Newstead John Potera Town of Newstead Planning Board David Cummings Town of Newstead Supervisor Dan Shonn Village of Akron Brian Murray Village of Akron Planning Board Michael Middaugh Village of Akron Trustee Carl Patterson Village of Akron Mayor Newstead Town Board Joe Dugan John Jendrowski Jeannine Morlacci Village of Akron Board of Trustees Darrin L. Folger E. Peter Forrestel Brian T. Perry Other Contributors Wendy E. Salvati, AICP WWS Planning Carol Zimberlin Larsen Engineers Debra Liegl Erie County Department of Environment & Planning Town of Newstead Residents Village of Akron Residents Project Consultant Andrew Reilly, AICP Wendel Leanne Voit, AICP Wendel Matthew Bowling Wendel Funding Generously Provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Community Block Development Grant Program NEWSTEAD / AKRON COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Regional and Local Setting ............................................................................................... 1 1.2 Previous Comprehensive Planning Endeavors .............................................................. 1 1.3 Reasons for Preparing a Comprehensive Plan Update .............................................. 2 1.4 How will the Plan be Utilized? ........................................................................................... 3 2 Existing Conditions and Analyses .................................................................................... 5 2.1 Demographics ..................................................................................................................... 6 2.1.1 Setting and Background - Town of Newstead ................................................ 7 2.1.2 Household Income - Town of Newstead .......................................................... 7 2.1.3 Poverty Levels - Town of Newstead ................................................................... 7 2.1.4 Age Distribution - Town of Newstead ................................................................ 8 2.1.5 Household Composition - Town of Newstead ................................................. 9 2.1.6 Housing Units - Town of Newstead ..................................................................... 9 2.1.7 Educational Attainment - Town of Newstead ................................................ 9 2.1.8 Setting and Background - Village of Akron .................................................. 10 2.1.9 Household Income - Village of Akron ............................................................ 10 2.1.10 Poverty Levels - Village of Akron ..................................................................... 11 2.1.11 Age Distribution - Village of Akron .................................................................. 11 2.1.12 Household Composition - Village of Akron ................................................... 12 2.1.13 Household Units - Village of Akron .................................................................. 12 2.1.14 Educational Attainment - Village of Akron ................................................... 13 2.2 Environment ...................................................................................................................... 14 2.2.1 Topography ......................................................................................................... 14 2.2.2 Hydric Soils .......................................................................................................... 14 2.2.3 Stream Corridors and Watersheds .................................................................. 14 2.2.4 Floodplains and Wetlands ............................................................................... 15 2.2.5 Wildlife .................................................................................................................. 17 2.2.6 Scenic Resources ............................................................................................... 17 2.2.7 Historic Built Environment and Cultural Resources ....................................... 18 2.3 Land Use and Zoning ...................................................................................................... 20 2.3.1 Land Use .............................................................................................................. 20 2.3.2 Zoning - Village of Akron ................................................................................... 20 2.3.3 Zoning - Town of Newstead .............................................................................. 21 2.4 Agricultural Lands ............................................................................................................ 23 2.5 Housing and Neighborhoods......................................................................................... 26 2.6 Multi-Modal Transportation Network ............................................................................ 27 2.6.1 Major East/West Automobile Travel Routes ................................................. 27 2.6.2 Major North/South Automobile Travel Routes .............................................. 27 2.6.3 NFTA Metro Bus Routes ...................................................................................... 28 2.6.4 Bicycle Routes ..................................................................................................... 28 2.6.5 Walk Scores.......................................................................................................... 28 2.6.6 Air Travel ............................................................................................................... 29 2.6.7 Rail Service ........................................................................................................... 29 2.7 Utilities ................................................................................................................................. 30 2.7.1 Water - Town of Newstead .............................................................................. 30 2.7.2 Water - Village of Akron .................................................................................... 30 2.7.3 Sanitary Sewer - Town of Newstead ............................................................... 30 2.7.4 Sanitary Sewer - Village of Akron .................................................................... 31 2.7.5 Stormwater - Town of Newstead ..................................................................... 31 2.7.6 Stormwater - Village of Akron .......................................................................... 31 2.8 Community Facilities ....................................................................................................... 32 2.8.1 Public School Facilities ...................................................................................... 32 2.8.2 Public Police and Fire Protection .................................................................... 32 2.8.3 Public Recreational Facilities - Town of Newstead ...................................... 33 2.8.4 Public Recreational Facilities - Village of Akron ........................................... 33 2.8.5 Public Libraries ..................................................................................................... 34 2.8.6 C. Dee Wright Community Center.................................................................. 34 2.9 Economic Development ................................................................................................ 35 2.10 Summary of Findings ........................................................................................................ 39 2.10.1 Demographics ............................................................................................. 39 2.10.2 Environment .................................................................................................. 40 2.10.3 Transportation .............................................................................................. 40 2.10.4 Utilities............................................................................................................. 40 2.10.5 Community Facilities ................................................................................... 41 2.10.6 Economic Development ............................................................................ 41 2.10.7 Other Findings .............................................................................................. 42 3 Vision, Goals, and Objectives ....................................................................................... 43 3.1 Vision................................................................................................................................... 43 3.2 Goals and Objectives ..................................................................................................... 43 4 Technical Investigations ..............................................................................................