Community Board 7 (CB7) took the first step in the long, arduous journey of creating a local strategic plan. The Board’s Long Term Planning and Land Use committees met with officials from the Department of City Planning last week to discuss the various options in guiding future area development.

Board members became interested last summer in exploring how to create a 197a plan. The document provides guidelines for future actions of city agencies in a designated area, and can touch on topics like housing density and style, waterfront development, and open space preservation. Boards are authorized to sponsor the plan, but they must go through a lengthy community-wide discussion process before they enter the multi-step approval phase.

Since 1992, nine 197a plans have been ratified, including plans in Riverdale and Morrisania. Riverdale’s proposal took roughly eight years to complete.

“We met every two weeks to work out the policy conflicts,” said Barbara Mackintosh, who oversees planning coordination for the city. “A 197a takes a long time.”

They also require money. Most boards hire a consultant to generate maps and acquire the data necessary to justify the plan’s goals.

But 197a plans usually lead to tangible results. Riverdale’s plan spurred the city to rezone some of its neighborhoods. The waterfront near Stuyvesant Town is now being revitalized, thanks to their board’s plan.

“You get a lot of exposure and clout,” Mackintosh said. “It’s a very big political chip.”

Other planning options are quicker and cheaper, and can also yield results. Those include working on a localized rezoning with City Planning, writing a report about a specific area, or developing an agency-wide “action strategy” for a particular problem.

Before picking among those planning paths, CB7 still needs to decide on what issues and areas it’s concerned about. Topics raised during the meeting included the Kingsbridge Armory, the Harlem River waterfront, parkland conservation, rapid housing development and school construction.

Members are interested in creating a survey to gather community input. “That would be a very good thing,” said Rita Kessler, the Board’s district manager. Paul Foster, chair of Long Term Planning, said he would raise the issue during CB7’s next Executive Committee meeting.

Board members seemed a bit overwhelmed by all the options and the work they require, but left on an optimistic note. “We’re beginning to move forward,” said Greg Faulkner, the board’s chair. “This is a big step.”

***

The Board selected new committee heads during its public meeting last month. The chairs and co-chairs are as follows: Sanitation, Rafeek Khan; Public Safety, Lowell Green and Ricardo Parker; Budget, David Laguer; Land Use, Sandra Erickson; Housing, Judith Freeman; Parks, Barbara Stronczer; Health, Elizabeth Errico and Ozzie Brown; Youth, Don Bluestone; and Long Term Planning, Paul Foster.