Update - March 2019:
The open house for Plan Portland 2040 happens Monday, April 1, from 6:00-7:30 p.m. at the Portland Community Center. (There will be a brief presentation at 6:30 p.m.) Plan Portland 2040 is a long-range planning document to help guide how Portland will look in the future. To gather input from Portland residents about the plan and their vision for Portland in the decades to come, the City will conduct two public meetings.
An online survey for citizens will serve as a foundation for formulating Plan Portland 2040. The survey will address issues to be included in the plan, such as land use, transportation, infrastructure, community image, public amenities, parks and recreation, and economic development. Citizens can take the survey at one of the public meetings or online at home or work. (The link to the survey will be posted at PortlandTX.com and on the City’s Facebook page as soon as it’s available.)
Freese and Nichols, a land planning consultant, has been retained to assist in developing Plan Portland 2040. The planning process is anticipated to take about 18 months.
______________
CITY BEGINS UPDATE OF COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
One of the City of Portland’s biggest undertakings in the coming year will be to update its comprehensive plan, commonly known as a master plan. The standard definition of such a plan is: A long-term plan establishing guidelines and guideposts for optimal growth and development based on a shared community vision.
The City of Portland’s Comprehensive Plan will address the topics of land use, zoning, capital improvements, and other city policies. The City has hired Freese & Nichols to assist with the update.
The best comprehensive plans benefit from the input and feedback of citizen stakeholders, so part of the plan’s development will be an extensive outreach program to engage the people who would be affected most—our citizens—and to ensure community support for the planning effort and its results.
The update is expected to take more than a year to complete. During that time, citizens will have an opportunity to participate in at least two community meetings to provide input for the plan. The first public meeting to garner input from citizens about the plan will be on Monday, April 1, at 6:00 p.m. (The location is still to be determined.) The City will also be conducting an online survey for residents to provide input about growth and development, and other aspects of the plan. Input from the survey and public meetings will be important components in developing a final comprehensive plan.
The update to the Portland Comprehensive Plan will include nine sections:
· Baseline Analysis
· Vision
· Thoroughfares
· Parks and Open Space
· Housing
· Public Facilities
· Future Land Use
· Community Image
· Implementation
Getting a comprehensive plan right can take many forms, but it’s always predicated on what’s appropriate to the community—based on the current situation and the future vision.
The benefits of good planning for the long-term are clear: better residential and commercial developments, fulfillment of the vision of what Portland is and can be in the context of the community vision, and greater satisfaction from community stakeholders.