City of Watertown Planning and Community Development

04/08/2026

An important reminder about E-BIKE safety...

02/20/2026

We need your input! The City of Watertown has scheduled a public meeting for Tuesday, February 24, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. at the Hilltop Towers Community Room, 113 W. Main Street.

The City receives approximately $850,000 annually from HUD through the Community Development Block Grant Program to spend on infrastructure, housing improvements and other community development projects. We are in the early stages of preparing a 5-Year Consolidated Plan covering 2026-2030 and an Annual Action Plan for 2026 and would like your feedback on Watertown’s needs, goals for the next 5 years and projects for 2026-2027.

Please join us on Tuesday!

04/21/2025

Friday, April 25, 2025 is Arbor Day! Join members of the Watertown City Council along with Tree Watertown, the City's Street Tree Advisory Board, as we mark the occasion with the planting of a tree in Thompson Park.

04/07/2025

We would like to welcome our newest Adopt-A-Spot Volunteer group, the CHJC SoZo Teen Center! This group has adopted Black River Parkway and Mill Street Entrance to the Riverwalk.

We appreciate the CHJC SoZo Teen Centers willingness to take part in the program and all their future plans to beautify this area.

The city would also like to thank all the Adopt-A-Spot volunteers for their willingness to help keep our city clean and beautiful!
If you are interested in adopting a spot, please visit:
https://www.watertown-ny.gov/AdoptASpotProgram.

03/06/2025

The Watertown-Jefferson County Area Transportation Council is conducting a Safe Routes to School Study and wants your input. Are you the parent of a child that walks to school? What are your concerns and priorities? The WJCTC wants to know! Please take a few moments to answer a survey at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/wjctcfocusareas

12/13/2024

The Planning Department would like to give a big thank you to Bill and Debra Dermady and Tom Gamage for their continued efforts to beautify the City of Watertown through the Adopt-a-Spot Program. They recently planted a blue spruce at Lansingdrop Park which has been a great addition to the area. We really appreciate all of the hard work that our Adopt-a-Spot volunteers have put into our green spaces and around the City.

There are other open locations for adoption. If you are interested in the program, you can learn more about it by visiting: https://www.watertown-ny.gov/AdoptASpotProgram.

12/04/2024

Please note that the Fair Housing trainings originally scheduled for tomorrow will now take place on Tuesday, December 17, 2024. The location remains the Watertown Urban Mission. We hope to see you there!

11/26/2024

CNY Fair Housing, the City’s qualified Fair Housing enforcement agency, will host two in-person Fair Housing Education Sessions on Thursday, December 5, 2024 at the Watertown Urban Mission. The first session will be geared towards landlords from 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. and the second session will be geared towards service providers and tenants from 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. Pre-registration will be encouraged, but not required.
Information on how to register can be found on the attached flyers. CNY Fair Housing will be presenting new material from previous years’ classes, which will reflect updates in Fair Housing law with an emphasis on practical application.

07/15/2024

06/13/2024

Thank you so much to the North County Arts Council for participating in our Adopt-A-Spot program and making Lachenauer Plaza look nice and clean! Some new flowers have also been planted in the area adding a nice touch of color.
We really appreciate all of the hard work that our Adopt-A-Spot volunteers have put into our green spaces around the City.
If you're interested in participating in the program, you can learn more about it by visiting: https://www.watertown-ny.gov/.../Planni.../AdoptASpotProgram

04/11/2024

The City of Watertown, the Watertown City School District and the Watertown Housing Authority will be hosting a job fair on Wednesday, April 17, 2024 from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Watertown Municipal Arena located at 600 William T. Field Drive. Come check out the various job opportunities that are available and the benefits of public sector employment. See below for more details.

04/08/2024

***ECLIPSE PARKING INFORMATION***

For those from outside the area with questions regarding tomorrow's "Total Eclipse of the Park" event and vehicle parking, here's what you need to know:

😎There is a great deal of on-street parking in close proximity to our shuttle stops. The map of shuttle stops is available here:

https://maps.watertown-ny.gov/portal/apps/experiencebuilder/experience/?id=f03198d7fa4c44279fb0b6e946b69310

😎Additionally, if you wanted to park in a public lot and then Uber/Lyft to one of the shuttle stops (or a place close by) that is an option as well. Here is a map of the Downtown public parking lots:

https://www.watertown-ny.gov/PublicParking

😎There are also number of other lots, which aren’t public, but likely will NOT be restricting parking for visitors.

😎Lastly, if you were to park in one of the Downtown lots, it's about a 15-minute or so walk to one of the shuttle stops. Public parking lots, again, are outlined here:

https://www.watertown-ny.gov/PublicParking

Have a question regarding tomorrow's event that we haven't answered? Drop it in the comments below! 👇👇👇