BY PAUL MITCHELL
North Country This Week

CANTON - A public hearing on the revised village zoning code will be held Dec. 14 at 6 p.m.

On Wednesday night, the village board discussed recommendations from both the St. Lawrence County Planning Office and Village Planning Board before putting the finishing touches on the draft to be put before the general public.

In attendance via Zoom was Monica Ryan, a consultant from River Street Planning and Development., who told board members she was “comfortable with the recommendations from the county.”

One recommendation to be tweaked into the proposed law involved West Street and its current General Mixed Use designation. The village planning board requested the north side of West Street [zoned B-1] be changed to Neighborhood Mixed Use citing a majority of single-family dwelling on that side of the street.

Ryan noted that the “Neighborhood” designation is more restrictive in terms of commercial ventures.

“This will keep it more in the spirit of what it is now and what it’s been,” stated Trustee Carol Pynchon.

The south side will still be zoned General Mixed Use.

“I think it’s a thoughtful one,” Pynchon added of the planning board’s request. “The sides of the street are very different.”

The planning board also alluded to dog parks, requesting no dog parks be located near schools and the commercial corridor.

Ryan told board members that dog parks are included under “Parks” in the village code.

“We have never carved out dog parks. A park is a park, is a park,” she said.

The village board has 62 days after the public hearing to vote on the new zoning law.

The matter will be discussed at the board’s monthly meeting on Dec. 15.