In 2013, after a year of research, extensive outreach and consensus-building, the Mid-Hudson Planning Consortium released its Mid-Hudson Regional Sustainability Plan (MHRSP), a plan funded by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority’s (NYSERDA) Cleaner Greener Communities Program. The MHRSP sets out a vision for sustainable development that builds on the region’s unique social, cultural, and natural history, with the goal of promoting economic development, environmental sustainability, and enhancing quality of life. The Region encompasses the counties of Westchester, Rockland, Orange, Putnam, Dutchess, Ulster, and Sullivan.

The Plan’s objectives and corresponding strategies provide a common vision for the region’s sustainable development, and lay out a series of priority initiatives to help achieve the vision. This toolkit is designed to be a resource to help implement the goals, objectives, and initiatives of the MHRSP as well as strategies identified in the following complementary resources:

New York State Climate Smart Communities Program and Toolkit
Orange County Design Manual
LEED for Neighborhood Development

While professionals will want to use this resource, it is aimed primarily at the many citizen-planners and advocates who sit on local boards and committees – the people who know their communities best and are most concerned. To that end, an emphasis has been placed on making this Toolkit easy to use and easy to understand.

This toolkit was funded by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA). It was developed by Orange County in partnership with several non-profit and institutional partners including Regional Plan Association, the City University of New York (CUNY) Institute for Sustainable Cities and the U.S. Green Building Council Upstate New York State Chapter; as well as the participation of the City of Newburgh, the Village of Warwick, the Town of Warwick, and the Orange County Water Authority.