Town of Niles
The town of Niles and the town of Skaneateles are neighbors, but significant similarities beyond location are more difficult to find.During a meeting held Wednesday night in Niles for the town to discuss creating a comprehensive plan, Niles planning board chair Bob Martin read off headlines from several stories in the weekly Skaneateles Journal regarding commercial and residential development. Then he picked up a copy of the 2006 annual Niles Newsletter: “This is the town of Niles for one year,” he said, holding up the four-page newsletter. “We're four miles away, yet we're a million miles away.”
It may not always be that way, however.
If, or when, the growing residential development near Skaneateles Lake works its way down to Niles, the town wants to be ready to address it and any other changes the town may face over the next 20 years.
That's one reason, Martin said, the town wants to create a full-scale comprehensive plan, which it currently does not have.
“Four miles away, they're going crazy,” he said, referring to the growing development to the north. “We're still very agricultural and rural.”