02-17-11 Regular Meeting and Public Hearing of the La Porte Planning and Zoning Commission

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Staff Report March 17, 2011 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE SCOPE OF STUDY The La Porte 2020 Comprehensive Plan is an official public document that acts as a general guide for how the City should grow and operate over a 20 year interval. The Comprehensive Plan plays many important roles in shaping the future of the community by: • Serving as a general "guideline" for future development and redevelopment in and around the City with an emphasis on improving the community's desirability as a place to live, work, play and shop. • Documenting the character of the community, as well as anticipated issues, trends, opportunities, and challenges facing the City. • Providing a common vision supported by a series of goals and objectives. • Defining policies to guide daily decision - making regarding the City's physical and economic growth. • Establishing strategies for aggressive implementation that emphasize action and results. The first 5 -year update was performed in house and now we are 10 years into the 2020 Comprehensive Plan. During this 10 years period, there have been significant changes and other major activities occurred. This half way journey of Comprehensive Plan is vital aspect of the community's vision to respond to new ideas and directions as the City progresses. As communities face growth- related challenges, a need for professional planning services arises. The Houston - Galveston Area Council (H -GAC) has introduced PlanSource, a program designed to assist local governments in reducing costs and streamlining the procurement process. PlanSource is a cooperative purchasing program for planning services, i.e. comprehensive plan, land use, transportation, parks and recreations, economic development, feasibility studies and visioning. The City utilized the H -GAC resources to find a consultant or the firm to accomplish this important Comprehensive Plan update. Staff met with the planning consultant, Kendig Keast Collaborative, and discussed goals and objectives of the Comprehensive Plan Update. The planning consultant has assembled the scope of study, salient features are as follow: • Citizen Involvement in the Planning Process • Existing Information Review • Structural Plan — Context, Land Use & Character, Downtown Master Plan, Parks & Recreation Master Plan, Infrastructure & Growth Capacity, Community Mobility, Economic Development, Implementation • Deliverables Document is attached for your review /comments and further directions to staff in this regard.