Mayor Lovely A. Warren today unveiled the draft of Rochester 2034, the City’s 15-year Comprehensive Plan to guide development and policy decisions leading to the city’s bicentennial year in 2034.
“When Rochester turns 200 years old, we are going to make sure our children and grandchildren live in a city where they can be proud to live, work and play,” said Mayor Warren. “Rochester 2034 is our road map to that city. This Comprehensive Plan gives us the vision we need to manage our city’s growth in way that lets us create more jobs, safer and more vibrant neighborhoods and provides all of our children with a quality education.”
Rochester 2034 covers a wide swath of City services, investment strategies and land-use priorities, including public safety, housing, transportation, job creation, parks and the arts. Each topic includes goals and strategies that are aligned with an overarching community vision and set of guiding principles. Overall, the Rochester 2034 presents a blueprint for growth.
Among its broadest goals, the plan creates place-making strategies for each of Rochester’s neighborhoods and commercial districts; ensures initiatives and developments benefit all segments of the population to achieve social and economic equality; and guides infrastructure investments in a manner that leverages the full potential of the city’s natural resources, especially the Genesee River and Lake Ontario.
Through its proposed place-making plan, Rochester 2034 encourages a restoration of the city’s historic built environment, repopulates neighborhoods and creates diverse business and housing opportunities in areas that accommodate mixed uses. The plan recognizes that many elements contribute to a sense of place, including private development, parks, community facilities, reuse of vacant lands, public art, transportation networks and public infrastructure.
Social and economic equity are central to Rochester 2034. The plan covers a wide range of strategies to support small-business and workforce development; creates more affordable housing choices; meets the needs of people with disabilities, closes the transportation gap; and develops partnerships to improve the health of people living in poverty.
Rochester 2034 also emphasizes the importance of the city’s network of natural resources, parks and public spaces. The city’s three waterways – Lake Ontario, Genesee River and Erie Canal – provide opportunities for waterfront development, recreation and preservation. The ROC the Riverway waterfront revitalization program is featured prominently in Rochester 2034, yielding the subtitle “Where the River Flows.”
The public launch of the plan is the culmination of months of community input into the preparation of the public draft. The City will host a series of community meetings over the summer for a final round of public comment before the plan is finalized and brought to City Council for adoption in the fall.
This is the first Comprehensive Plan to guide City developments and policies since 1999, when Mayor William A. Johnson’s Jr.’s administration adopted “Renaissance 2010.”
Visit cityofrochester.gov/Roc2034 to learn more about the next steps in the public review process.
