Town of Plattsburgh prehensive Land Use Plan
Comp
6
2.0 Plattssburgh Todaay 2.1 Overview The Town of Plattsbu
urgh has maade tremend
dous strides in reinventiing itself since the closu
ure of the Platttsburgh Air Force Basee (PAFB) in
n 1995, an event thatt lead to th
he departurre of approxim
mately 6,000
0 residents and militaryy personnel. In the wakke of the PA
AFB closuree, the Town agggressively so
ought to attrract new business. Portiions of the fformer PAFB
B itself have been transform
med into the
e Plattsburggh Internatio
onal Airport, which is now owned and operateed by Clinton C
County, and is home to a thriving in
ndustrial park. Plattsburggh’s redevellopment straategy has focussed on its prroximity to C
Canada and the Interstaate 87 corrid
dor. This geo
ography, cou
upled with a reelatively low
w cost labor force, has resulted r
in the t attractio
on of variou
us manufacturing businessees to the Town. The Tow
wn may be thought t
of as a collecttion of neigghborhoods, each with its own disstinct identity, described as follows: •
Cadyville and
d Morrisonville are traditional hamlets. They feeature a small, built‐up core w
which quickly
y transitionss to more ru
ural housing on larger lo
ots. They havve neighborhood sccale commercial facilitiees. Residentss tend to havve a strong ssense of iden
ntity and to think of themselves as living in the hamlet,, even thouggh it isn’t an incorporateed place. •
Cumberland Head is a peninsula p
in Lake Cham
mplain. Previously a vacaation area, most homes are now n
year ro
ound. It feaatures the Town’s T
mosst expensivee housing stock, s
beautiful visttas and open
n spaces thaat are highlyy valued by tthe commun
nity. Cumberland H
Head residen
ts value their physical environmentt and generally want littlle change. •
Wallace Hill is a workingg class neighborhood with relativelyy high densitties and an older W
housing stockk. •
Treadwells M
Mills is similaar to Wallacee Hill, with aa high perceentage of mobile homess and housing in ne
eed of rehabilitation. •
Rt. 3 is the Town’s T
comm
mercial coree, generatingg significantt employment, propertyy and saales taxes fo
or the comm
munity. The Rt. 3 corrid
dor is the sh
hopping hub
b for the reegion, drawing patrrons from throughout t
the eastern
n part of th
he North Co
ountry, soutthern Q
Quebec and M
Montreal. •
A
A secondary c
commercial center is deeveloping on Rt. 9 north of the City. The Tow
wn of Plattsburgh has extensive e
w
water and sewer infrastructure, a robust road
dway network and an outsstanding recreation department. It iis able to provide these services witthout a town tax, t
and onlyy a limited highway taxx. The Town
n also offerss many educcational servvices, includingg Clinton Co
ounty Comm
munity Collegge, Champlaain Valley Ed
ducational Services, S
CV
V‐TEC, The C
Chazen Comp
panies Finaal Draft: Junee 2010 Town of Plattsburgh prehensive Land Use Plan
Comp
7
and the Plattsburgh Aeronauticaal Institute. Moreover the Town is exceptionallly beautiful, with views of the Adirond
dack Mountains to the w
west and, east across Lake Champlain, views o
of the Green Mountains. M
About A
70 percent p
of the Town is i still undeeveloped. Forest, wetlaands, orchardss, and farm fields all add to Plattsburrgh’s charm.. In creatin
ng this plan Plattsburgh seeks to preeserve the ch
haracteristiccs that makee it a desirab
ble st
place to live, work an
nd play, while addressing issues such as housingg, attracting 21 centuryy economyy businessess and protectting importaant open spaaces.
The C
Chazen Comp
panies Finaal Draft: Junee 2010 Town of Plattsburgh prehensive Land Use Plan
Comp
8
2.2 Popu
ulation & De
emographicss Who we are… 1,685 The U.S. Census Burreau currenttly estimatess the Town of Plattsburrgh population to be 11
esents a 4.2 percent increase from tthe 2000 Census (11,190
0). Note that this persons, which repre
estimate is 32.2 perccent less than that of thee 1990 Censsus (17,231).. The declinee is of coursee due S
1
1995. Prior to its closure, there were nearly 5,500 5
to the cllosure of the PAFB in September persons living on and
d around the base. The Town of Pla
attsburgh 19
999 Compreh
hensive Land
d Use Plan, which was devveloped afteer the PAFB’’s closure, p
projected Plaattsburgh’s p
population tto be 12,969 by 2005, and 13,132 by 2
2010, so the Town did not grow as rrapidly as an
nticipated byy that population projections fo
or the Town are approximately 11,800.2 plan. Currrent 2010 p
Although
h its populaation declined with the closure of o the PAFB
B, the Town
n of Plattsb
burgh nevertheeless has a higher popu
ulation than
n its neighb
bors, with th
he exceptio
on of the City of Plattsburrgh, which has a curreent estimateed populatio
on of over 19,000. Figgure 2 comp
pares Plattsburrgh’s population with the surrou
unding tow
wns of Peru
u, Schuylerr Falls, Saranac, Dannemo
ora, and Be
eekmantown
n. Plattsburggh’s populattion is approximately 41 4 percent larger than thatt of the Tow
wn of Peru, tthe next mo
ost populateed neighboring town. Th
he City and TTown of Plattssburgh have
e a populaation densitty of 3,760
0 and 230 persons per square mile, respectivvely. The ave
erage number of person
ns per squarre mile for th
he surround
ding commun
nities is approxximately 85, with the To
own of Saranac, at 36 p
persons per square milee, being the least densely p
populated. M
Most of the surroundingg towns are projected tto have a higgher growth
h rate than thee Town of Plattsburgh P
f the 200
for 00‐2009 periiod (9.4 perrcent combiined averagge for Peru, Sch
huyler Falls, Saranac, and Beekmanttown), with the exceptio
on of Dannemora, wherre the populatio
on is expecte
ed to declinee by 3 perceent. The Tow
wn of Plattsb
burgh is partt of the Platttsburgh Miccropolitan Statistical S
Arrea (MSA), which w
shares th
he same bo
oundary as Clinton Cou
unty and en
ncompasses all of its municipalitie
m
es. As defined b
by the U.S. Census Bureeau, Microp
politan Statisstical Areas may consistt of one or more counties that contaiin an urban core of at least 10,000
0, but less than t
50,000
0, in populattion.3 Another defining characteristic of Micropolitan Statistical Areas iss their high degree of social s
and econ
nomic integrration, as measured by the area’s ccommuting ccharacteristics. For exam
mple, the City of Plattsburgh, with an
n estimated
d population
n of 19,444, qualifies as a Micropo
olitan Urban Co
ore. As of 20
006, there w
were approxim
mately 14,33
39 primary jjobs within tthe City. Of tthese 14,339 jo
obs, approxiimately 8,58
83 (60 perceent) were heeld by Clinto
on County reesidents thaat did not resid
de within the t
City. Ap
pproximatelyy 70 percent of thesee 8,583 job
bs were helld by individuaals who resid
de in the Tow
wn of Plattsb
burgh. 2
3
2010 pop
pulation projecctions completeed by the Clintton County Planning Departm
ment. An area w
with an urban ccore that has aa population grreater than 50,,000 constitutees a Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The C
Chazen Comp
panies Finaal Draft: Junee 2010 Town of Plattsburgh prehensive Land Use Plan
Comp
9
A recentt report pu
ublished by the Lake Champlain‐Lake Georgge Regional Planning Board B
indicatess that Clinto
on County exxperienced a 2.69 percent growth rate from 2000‐2005, 2
w
while the statee’s population grew 1.4
47 percent during thatt period. Acccording to the U.S. Ceensus Bureau’s 2005‐2007 Micropolitan Statistical Area data, C
Clinton Coun
nty had a to
otal population of 82,000, o
of which 40,000 (49 perrcent) were ffemales and
d 42,000 (51 percent) weere males, w
which was comparable to the state’s geender characteristics. Th
he median aage for the co
ounty duringg this hich is appro
oximately 0.3
3 years youn
nger than th
he state’s meedian same period was 37.1 years, wh
pulation wass under 18 years y
and 13 percent was w 65 yearss and age. Tweenty percentt of the pop
older. Taable 1 illusttrates the 2005‐2007 2
estimated population p
by age for the Plattsb
burgh Micropollitan Statistical Area and
d the State o
of New York. 2007 Town
Using 20
005‐2007 Clinton C
Coun
nty MSA population p
e
estimates, n of Plattsb
burgh populatio
on figures were w
calculated by age group (Figure 3). As a percentage,, the Town’ss age composittion is simiilar to that of both th
he county and the staate. In 200
00, the Tow
wn of Plattsburrgh’s median age was 37.3, 3
which is nearly identical to that of the state s
and co
ounty average. However, the Town h
has a greater percentage of children and youngg teenagers (i.e., under th
he age of fiive (5) thro
ough 14 yeaars of age) than the co
ounty, but has fewer older teenagerrs and young adults (i.ee., 15 years of age thro
ough 24 years of age). Overall, O
both
h the Town and the Countty have a hiigher percen
ntage of 25‐‐54 year old
ds than the sstate averagge. In City of Plattsburgh, however, the avverage age o
of the Town of Plattsburrgh is comparisson to the C
The C
Chazen Comp
panies Finaal Draft: Junee 2010 Town of Plattsburgh prehensive Land Use Plan
Comp
10
consideraably older. This is no doubt duee, in part, to the influ
uence of Plattsburgh P
State Universitty, located in
n the City. Tablle 1 – 2005‐2
2007 Clinton
n County (M
MSA) Age Chaaracteristicss Ge
ender & Age
County Estimate
E
Pe
ercent of Coun
nty
State Esttimate
Perce
ent of State
To
otal population
82,0
048
100%
19,280,,753
100%
Male
41,7
781
50.9%
9,343,9
951
4
48.50%
Fe
emale
40,2
267
49.1%
9,936,8
802
5
51.50%
Un
nder 5 years
3,7
796
4.6%
1,201,9
950
6.20%
5 to 9 years
3,4
488
4.3%
1,178,0
018
6.10%
10
0 to 14 years
5,3
326
6.5%
1,271,0
062
6.60%
15
5 to 19 years
6,9
950
8.5%
1,397,3
353
7.20%
20
0 to 24 years
7,5
552
9.2%
1,365,9
909
7.10%
25
5 to 34 years
11,5
545
14.1%
2,524,7
715
1
13.10%
35
5 to 44 years
12,180
14.8%
2,901,0
095
1
15.00%
45
5 to 54 years
12,3
304
15.0%
2,827,2
241
1
14.70%
55
5 to 59 years
4,5
585
5.6%
1,180,7
711
6.10%
60
0 to 64 years
3,8
850
4.7%
904,7
745
4.70%
65
5 to 74 years
5,7
713
7.0%
1,270,7
797
6.60%
75
5 to 84 years
3,2
283
4.0%
901,194
4.70%
85
5 years and ov
ver
476
1,4
1.8%
355,9
963
1.80%
U.S. Census Bure
eau
Figure 3 ‐ 2007 Town & County (M
MSA) Populaation Estimaates by Age Group n’s. However, the The City’s 2000 median age was 29.6 years, or 7.7 years younger thaan the Town
median aage for the surroundingg communitiies (i.e., Beeekmantown, Dannemoraa, Peru, Saraanac, The C
Chazen Comp
panies Finaal Draft: Junee 2010 Town of Plattsburgh prehensive Land Use Plan
Comp
11
and Schu
uyler Falls) is only slighttly younger then the To
own’s at 36.5 years. Witthin the Tow
wn of Plattsburrgh there are four (4) Censuss Designateed Places (CDP): Cum
mberland Head, H
Morrison
nville, Plattssburgh Wesst, and the Plattsburgh
h Airbase Redevelopm
R
ment Corporation (PARC). C
Census Desiggnated Placees are delineeated by thee U.S. Censu
us Bureau to provide datta for settled concentratio
c
ons of popu
ulation in arreas that arre not incorporated byy a state an
nd/or municipaality. Of the four (4) CDP’s, PAR
RC, the forrmer Plattsb
burgh Air Force F
Base,, has experienced the greaatest changee in population. In 1990
0, there weree 5,483 perssons living w
within the PARC
C CDP. As of o 2000, theere were on
nly 54 people. The greaatest growth
h was within
n the Morrison
nville CDP, w
where there was a 43.7 percent inccrease in pop
pulation from 1990 to 2
2000. During th
his same period, the Cu
umberland H
Head CDP haad a 9.8 perccent decrease in populaation, while thee Plattsburggh West CD
DP experiencced a 1.2 peercent increease in population. Tab
ble 2, Census Designated Place Popu
ulation Tren
nds, illustraates the Plaattsburgh CDP’s C
1980‐‐2000 populatio
ons. Table 2 – Ce
ensus Designated Place
e Population
n Trends Census Design
nated Place (CDP
P) Mo
orrisonville Platttsburgh Wesst Cum
mberland Heaad PAR
RC Oth
her 198
80 1990 2000 1,04
43
1,21
10
N//A
5,90
05
959
9
1,274
4
1,698
8
5,483
3
1,702
1,289
1,532
54
8,22
26
7,817
7
6,613
1990‐2000 % Change 43.7 1.2 ‐9.8 ‐99.0 15.4 In 2000, there were
e a total of 4,367 housseholds in the t Town off Plattsburggh and 29,42
23 in Clinton C
County. By 2
2007, the nu
umber of esstimated hou
useholds in Clinton Cou
unty had riseen to 4
30,088. Because the U.S. Census has a particular defiinition for “households”
“
” which are only d at the Tow
wn level during the deceennial census, more receent figures ffor the Town are collected
not available. Accord
ding to 2000
0 U.S. Censuss figures, thee average ho
ousehold sizze in the Tow
wn of 5 people. Faamilies mad
de up 70.8 percent of the househ
holds. Nonfaamily Plattsburrgh was 2.5
households made up
p 29.2 perceent of all ho
ouseholds. Most M
of the nonfamily households h
were people who w lived alone. Compaared to the County, thee Town had
d approximaately 5.3 percent more fam
mily househ
holds. Speciffically, the Town T
had a greater number houseeholds that were made up
p of married couples. Table 3 illustraates the num
mber and typ
pe of househ
holds in both the Town of Plattsburgh and Clinton County. 4
U.S. Census Bureau 200
05-2007 Amerrican Community Survey
The C
Chazen Comp
panies Finaal Draft: Junee 2010 Town of Plattsburgh prehensive Land Use Plan
Comp
12
Table 3 – TTown & County Household Characte
eristics Household by
b Type
% of Town
% off County
Diifference
70
0.8
65.5
5.3
33
3.8
32.0
1.8
55
5.0
51.0
4.0
23
3.7
22.5
1.2
0.9
10
10.2
0.7
6.9
6.6
0.3
29
9.2
34.5
-5.3
Househ
holder living alone
21
1.9
26.3
-4.4
Househ
holder 65 yearrs and over
7.9
10.0
-2.1
2.5
2.5
Family House
eholds (familie
es)
With ow
wn children un
nder 18 years
Married-Co
ouple Family
With ow
wn children un
nder 18 years
Female Householder (no
o husband pre
esent)
With ow
wn children un
nder 18 years
Nonfamily Households
A
Average
Hous
sehold Size
As of 20
000, there were w
7,473 Plattsburgh
h residents 25 years an
nd older. Approximate
A
ly 33 percent h
had graduatted high scho
ool or had o
obtained an eequivalent d
degree, while 30 percent had obtained
d either an aassociates, b
bachelors or masters degree (see Figure 4). In ccomparison, 33.5 percent of people in Clinton County 25 yeears and ovver had grad
duated from
m high scho
ool or d an equivale
ent degree, while 26.1 p
percent had
d an associatte’s degree or higher. A
At the obtained
state leveel, 27.8 perccent of thosee who were 25 years and over had ggraduated hiigh school or had obtained
d an equivale
ent degree and 34 perccent had either obtained an associaate, bachelo
ors or masters d
degree. own of Plattssburgh Educcation Charaacteristics Figure 4 – To
10%
8%
Less than
n 9th grade
11%
13%
9th to 12
2th grade (no diploma)
High school graduate (includess equivalency)
Some co
ollege (no degreee)
9%
Associate degree
Bachelorr's degree
16
6%
33%
Graduate or professionaal degree
The C
Chazen Comp
panies Finaal Draft: Junee 2010 Town of Plattsburgh prehensive Land Use Plan
Comp
13
Educational attainment and inco
ome are usu
ually closely related. According to 2
2000 U.S. Ceensus figures, 1
1,307 individ
duals (11.7 p
percent of in
ndividuals) and 273 families (9.2 perrcent of fam
milies) 5
were bellow the povverty level in
n the Town of Plattsbu
urgh. Appro
oximately 14
4.2 percent were related cchildren under 18 years o
of age, and 14.4 percent were 65 yeears old and over. According to 2005‐2
2007 U.S. Ce
ensus figures, 14 percen
nt of people in Clinton County were living in povverty. Fifteen p
percent of re
elated childreen under 18
8 were living below the p
poverty level, compared
d with 12 perceent of people 65 years old and ovver. Nine peercent of all families an
nd 29 percent of families with a femaale househo
older and no
o husband present p
had incomes beelow the poverty level. Poverty, however, iss only one part p
of the equation. Given G
the relatively low dollar thresshold used to establish po
overty, low to moderaate income figures, as defined by the U.S. Ceensus Bureau, help betterr illustrate economic e
h
hardships wiithin a com
mmunity. According to 2000 Census figures, f
app
proximately 38.2 percen
nt of the Town’s T
resid
dents had lo
ow to moderate incomes.. In comparisson, 41 perccent of Clinto
on County’s residents haad low to moderate inco
omes that same year, while 44.3 perceent of New YYork State reesidents had low to mod
derate incom
mes. 5
Accordingg to the U.S. Ce
ensus Bureau, in 2000, a fam
mily of two adults and two children with tottal income belo
ow $17,463 was considered below the povverty level. In 2
2007, a family o
of two adults aand two childreen with total was considered
d below the povverty level, wh
hich, adjusted ffor inflation, reepresents a 16 income below $21,027 w
he 2000 povertty threshold. percent inccrease from th
The C
Chazen Comp
panies Finaal Draft: Junee 2010