Webster's zoning rewrite is coming: where the comp plan stands, and the state grant that would pay for it
The town wants $150,000 from New York State to overhaul zoning rules that date to 2003, to match the Webster 2040 plan now nearing a vote.
Webster is preparing to ask New York State for $150,000 to rewrite its zoning code, the decades-old rulebook that decides what can be built where in town, to bring it in line with a long-range plan the town expects to adopt later this year.
The Town Board voted 5-0 on July 2 to authorize the grant application, with all five members voting in favor. The application itself is due to the state by its July 31 deadline.
The request goes to the New York State Smart Growth Community Planning Program, submitted through the 2026 Consolidated Funding Application. If awarded, the money would pay for a community-wide overhaul of Webster's zoning code, the work carried out by the consulting firm Jean O'Connell & Associates along with town staff. Officials have estimated the rewrite would take 12 to 18 months.
The state program has about $4.8 million available statewide this cycle, according to the Department of State, and funds comprehensive plans, targeted area plans and zoning ordinances for municipalities across New York. Director of Community Development Josh Artuso has said Webster received $100,000 from the same program in 2023 to help fund its current planning update, and he has pointed to that award as a reason to expect success on a second request.
The town's resolution seeks $150,000 with what it describes as a 25 percent local match, reported at $37,500. Under the state program's own rules, an applicant must cover at least 10 percent of a project's eligible cost, with the grant funding up to 90 percent, so Webster is proposing to put up more than the state's minimum.
Why a rewrite, and why now
The push is tied to "Webster 2040," the town's comprehensive plan update, which launched in 2025. The Comprehensive Plan Committee held its final scheduled meeting this spring, and the process has moved toward public engagement and adoption. A public open house and a formal public hearing are set to come before the Town Board votes on adopting the plan, with completion targeted for summer 2026.
A comprehensive plan is the town's long-range vision for land use and growth. Zoning is how that vision gets enforced, parcel by parcel. Webster's current comprehensive plan is 18 years old, adopted in 2008. Its zoning map was last comprehensively revised in 2003, and some of its parking rules date to the 1960s. The grant-funded rewrite would replace those aging rules with a code built to match the 2040 plan once it is adopted.
The rewrite also connects to a step the town has already taken. In June the Town Board adopted a six-month development moratorium, Local Law No. 2 of 2026, on a 5-0 vote, temporarily freezing certain commercial site plans, large subdivisions, and large-scale solar and data-center projects while the plan and the zoning that follows it are updated. The Ledger has previously reported on what the moratorium froze and on the board's decision to enact it.
With the application now authorized, if the state funds it, the code rewrite would begin as the comprehensive plan reaches adoption, with the 12-to-18-month timeline running from there.
AI tools were used in drafting and research.