08-02-11 Planning and Zoning - Laserfiche WebLink

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As part of the "visioning" process that occurred during the development of the original Comprehensive Plan, u consensus "vision" was developed and subsequently guided Council and staff policy and decision -making for the past 10years. Evident today, however, isthat the community is no longer in agreement as to the future directions. As such, a ~visioning" process was conducted during this update resulting in a new consensus vision; one that will continue toberefined through the course ofthe planning process. The first step imthe visioning process bto assess where the community had been in the past. This effort involved a review of the existing comprehensive planning and other demographic and socio-economic information (refer to the Demographic Snapshot). The profile offers a glimpse of where La Porte has been in the past and where it is today. This analysis set the tone for community discussions and the overall visioning effort. Stakeholder interviews. The vision development process consisted of several opportunities designed togenerate conversation among citizens regarding their current perceptions, but, more |mpnrtnmt|\\ their expectations for the future. The first opportunity was o series of interviews with community stakeholders, which occurred over the course of two days. In all, over 60 citizens participated in this process, including osession specifically designed to engage the community's youth. The purpose of these small group interviews was to su|idL the input of residents concerning common perceptions, issues, problems, opportunities, constraints, assets, and challenges of the Qty. This input was invaluable in understanding the underlying issues and needs of the community and, specifically, the values and priorities of those who know best — citizens, Council/Planning and Zoning Commissioners, neighborhood and civic organizations, community service organizations, business and industry leaders, major landowners and developers, and other community leaders. The input received through the imiendem process was used to formulate the Vision Statement outlined in this chapter, In addition, each of the -subsequent plan elements are specifically crafted to address the issues, problems, and improvement needs that were identified through the interviews. During the course ufeach stakeholder interview, discussion was facilitated hn order toencourage and allow participants tnspeak candidly, |nsome groups, discussions developed and took on o life ofits uvvn through the participants' own initiation; in other cases, a series of open-ended 4weoLlmns were asked A COMMUNITY VISION FOR, I_A, PORTE, 'I IXA� 2010 UPDATE