Council debates priorities: comprehensive plan, inclusionary zoning and bike master plan timing

Councilors used a workshop exercise to rank near‑term priorities, with inclusionary zoning, a comprehensive plan update and community center items appearing high on members’ lists. The mayor and staff proposed bringing county planning representatives and a planning‑board attorney to an April meeting to provide background before the council pursues substantive policy steps.

“I think the planner was talking about April as one of those meetings,” the mayor said while outlining next steps to brief the council. Several members urged fuller background briefings to ensure the new council members understand prior deliberations and to avoid repeating earlier efforts without fresh analysis.

Members debated whether to wait for the county to produce a bicycle master plan or hire the city’s own consultant. One councilor warned that if the county timeline is uncertain, the city may need to consider an independent consultant to keep momentum; another said coordination with the county could save resources. Short‑term rentals also drew policy questions: several members stressed that enforcement tools would determine whether licensing, bans or regulation would be feasible.

Councilors also suggested checking previous volunteer and committee work (Main Street access and Fishkill Avenue concepts) to see whether older plans could be updated rather than remade. Staff and the mayor agreed to schedule presentations and return with a timeline for the items the council ranked highest.