Municipalities create comprehensive plans to provide a long--term vision for growth and development and to determine the strengths and opportunities that will assist them in instituting ordinances and make future planning decisions. The New York Department of State indicates that comprehensive planning at the municipal level should provide a variety of goals and objectives that include both the intermediate and long--range time period. Scholars believed that comprehensive planning "would have little effect on American cities unless their goal premises can be established in sufficiently compelling fashion (both politically and intellectually) to make politicians take notice" (1965). New York State law requires local zoning to be "in accordance with comprehensive plans" but does not mandate their implementation. The State legislature's encouragement to prepare and adopt comprehensive plans has been effective; 70% of municipalities with planning board in New York State have adopted a plan.