06-30-08 Joint Meeting/Special Called Meeting of La Porte City Council and Main Street Advisory Committee

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Community Vision . .................................................. . Chapter 2 ~ . . . . One of the most important characteristics of the La Porte Comprehensive Plan Update is that it serves as a statement of policy. The comprehensive plan is general in nature and is intended to provide a statement about the community goals and policies, 1he general distrIbution and location of land use and circulation, and other general guidelines for the various plan elements. The plan should provide an overall guide for future growth and development while allowing some fleXIbility in its interpretation and use to respond to new ideas and direction as the City progresses, changes and grows. The La Porte Comprehensive Plan Update is organized and implemented using a hierarchy of guiding principles. The overall Community Vision is at the top of the hierarchy. A set of community goals follow with supportive objectives, policies and actions to form the implementation framework and provide direction for the future growth and development of the community. Each element of the plan has a vision statement that is specific to the element and consistent with the overall vision of the community. The definitions of the guiding principles are as follows: A Vrsion Statement is a broad statement of how the community views itself as it moves into the 218t Century. A vision for the community is an ideal and unique image of the future based on the community values. To have a vision means to look ahead: to imagine the future. Vrsioning is a process by which a community envisions its preferred future. A vision chronicles the hopes, dreams, and aspirations of a community and helps citizens agree on what they want their community to become. Goals are the general ends toward which cities direct their efforts. A goal addresses issues by stating policy intention. They are both qualitative and quantifiable, but are not quantified. Goals stretch and challenge cities, but they are realistic and achievable. Objectives are clear targets for specific action. They mark quantifiable interim steps toward achieving a City's long range mission and goals. Linked directly to goals, objectives are measurable, time- based statements of intent They emphasize the results of City actions at the end of a specific time period. Policies are statements of a definite course or method of action selected from among alternatives and in light of given conditions to guide and determine present and future decisions. Actions are methods to achieve goals and objectives. Formulated from goals and objectives, an action is the means for transforming goals to outcomes, with the best use of resources. An action reflects budgetary and other resources. A "visioning" process was conducted to develop community consensus on the goals and objectives that form the framework for the La Porte Comprehensive Plan Update. In order to create a shared vision of the future, the process involved city leaders and citizens in a dialogue to identifY issues, determine the assets and challenges of the community, and prepare goals and objectives that will shape and define the future. The visioning process generally involved answering four questions, including: Page 2-1 L P t C h. PI U d t Wilbur Smith Associates · Earth Tech ...................................