What is Environmental Planning?
Environmental planning sits at the junction of traditional land use planning and zoning and the natural environment. The primary goal of environmental planning is to work toward achieving economic and ecological sustainability through by appropriately balancing the interests of numerous stakeholders with competing interests. The main objective of environmental planning is to provide stakeholders and decision-makers with information to enable better environmental principles to be incorporated at the earliest possible stage in the planning process.

What can DCPD provide?
Department staff provide environmental planning expertise to and seek innovative solutions for residents, businesses, municipalities and other environmental stakeholders in the following areas:

Stormwater Analysis, Infrastructure Assessment and Permit Compliance

Stream Corridor Management

Onsite and Community Wastewater

Sourcewater Protection

Highway Management Planning

State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA) compliance

Watershed Technical Assistance

Hazard Mitigation and Floodplain Analysis

Open Space and Recreational Planning

Green Development? encouraging low impact development techniques, green building design and LEED certification, and conservation subdivision practices