MuniCollab Co-Founders Lou and Abe had the opportunity this month to attend the New York Planning Federation (NYPF) Annual Conference in Saratoga Springs. The conference was a great opportunity to rub shoulders with planning leaders from around New York State. The sessions were rich with content, and we even earned a handful of continuing education credits in the process! 

While it would be a herculean task to summarize all of the content that was shared with attendees, here is a quick overview to give a sense of what was covered:

  • Communities in New York need to think strategically about growth – A good example was a presentation by Matt Horn of the MRB Group which focused on sustainable growth. He pointed out that the steps many upstate communities took to cut taxes, reducing services and access to public facilities, often backfired as those communities ultimately decreased in population. Whereas communities that invested in their residents, increasing access to amenities and services, began to attract newcomers. 

Affordable housing was a popular topic.

  • Housing, housing, housing… – Having been to a handful of local government conferences this year alone, I can say confidently that housing is one of the central issues facing communities throughout New York State. The conversation around housing at the NYPF Annual Conference included some good insight on how to study the problem. One often overlooked detail is segmenting the population by age to understand the types of housing needed. Ultimately this data should inform an approach that is realistic, and more importantly very specific, about the types of housing that can be built, right down to the individual parcels. 
  • SEQR – Because, of course SEQR. This session showed how SEQR can be perceived by applicants and by the board, and laid out what types of actions require applicants to involve which types of consultants, as well as what type of scrutiny is required by the board and planning staff. Another important point for SEQR is building a full project-record, including every single detail that a lead agency will pin their determination on. 

The NYPF Annual Meeting was a great experience for the MuniCollab founders. It was our first conference to attend after launching our platform. Being able to show fellow attendees our platform while absorbing so much important content to inform our ongoing product roadmap was nothing short of exciting. The NYPF does an excellent job serving planning professionals and volunteers, and we’re excited to be part of the action!