Planning Director: Troy W. Waffner
Deputy Planning Director: Don Jordan Jr.
Assistant Director for Planning: Megan Costa
Mission
The Onondaga County Department of Planning provides a variety of planning services for Onondaga County. Our mission is to provide and promote effective planning by Onondaga County, the City of Syracuse, and the 19 towns and 15 villages in Onondaga County. We adhere to planning best practices in the areas of public participation and citizen engagement, taking a bottom up approach, in order to ensure an equitable and effective planning environment to develop policies that resonate with individuals and local communities.
Planning
The goal of planning is to create great communities for all. Our mission is aligned with the initiatives of the County Executive to address issues surrounding Poverty, Infrastructure and Economic Development. We do this through work at all levels of government and society to provide leadership, technical assistance and public engagement to allow municipalities, businesses, individuals, and neighborhoods to be the best they can be in a safe, healthy, and inspiring environment.
Planning does this in practice by providing a long-range, comprehensive perspective to inspire the creation of a human environment that functions for the benefit of all people by utilizing and maintaining effective infrastructure, providing for natural resource stewardship, and promoting economic growth and vitality.
The Onondaga County Department of Planning is required to develop and maintain a comprehensive plan for the county. Plan Onondaga, the County’s new comprehensive plan, was recently adopted by the Onondaga County Legislature.
The Department of Planning also administers current programs and planning efforts in service to the overall goals. These include administering the Onondaga County Planning Board’s GML 239 referral process, working with county departments as well as other planning agencies to implement planning objectives, writing grants consistent with planning objectives, and providing direct planning support to local municipalities.
GIS and Addressing
The Onondaga County Department of Planning also includes a talented Geographic Information System (GIS) division that creates, maintains, and provides analysis of geographic data. Through our GIS division we create mapping products for a variety of government customers. Our most visible products are used by thousands of government agencies, businesses, and individuals on a daily basis through our online GIS mapping portal.
The Department of Planning is also responsible for approval of street names and assigning address numbers in Onondaga County. The 911 Address Administration program also provides services to the county’s Department of Emergency Communications (911).
Feel free to contact us if you would like more information on the Department of Planning or any of our programs.