Comments sought from residents for new Comp. Plan

by Philip A. Janquart
 The City of Weiser is inviting residents to take part in its Public Visioning Survey.
 The survey aims to collect public comment as it works to develop an update on its comprehensive plan, which serves as a guide for future growth.
 The official invitation to comment reads as follows:
 “The City of Weiser has launched a process to update the City’s Comprehensive Plan – a document designed to guide the future actions of a community. It presents a vision for the future, with long-range goals and objectives for all activities that affect the community.
 “This first phase of the comprehensive plan update seeks to understand the broad vision and desires of the city and its residents. The questions in this survey will ask you about your experience with the community, what you love, and what areas could be improved.”
 City Clerk, David Tate, reiterated that the plan is a guide to help administrators get an idea of residents’ wishes in terms of growth.
 “It (the comprehensive plan) gives a city or a county – based on input and feedback from the public – a guide on how they would like to see the city grow,” he said. “It doesn’t mean that it’s written in stone. It’s not. It’s a guide tool.”
 Tate said that a comprehensive plan, which every city is required to have under Idaho code and usually projects a city’s actions 10 to 20 years in to the future, generally includes things like where residential and commercial development should occur.
 Comprehensive plans have numerous benefits, including achieving continuity to the community over time, allowing public bodies to have a framework from which to address land issues. It allows citizens’ various visions of land use to be kept orderly and rational. It also allows for the protection of valued resources, such as agricultural land. It promotes economic development and allows residents to express a collective vision.
 Weiser’s new comprehensive plan, which has not been updated in many years, is slated for completion in early fall 2022.
 “We are waiting on the [U.S.] Census numbers right now,” Tate said. “We want those numbers for the comp. plan; that’s why the timing of this is so important, so we can utilize the latest information.”
 U.S. Census numbers won’t be available until late spring or early summer, according to Tate.
Residents have plenty of time to fill out the survey, but Tate said the sooner, the better.
 “We’ve had a tremendous response on this survey, so we have a lot of information,” he said.
 Weiser’s new comprehensive plan should be completed some time in September, Tate said, but the adoption of the plan will only take place following several open houses and public hearings.
“Right now, we are just gathering people’s thoughts,” he said.
 Here is a sampling of some of the survey questions:
 1. What words or ideas would you use to describe the city of Weiser – past, present, and future?
 2. What do you like most about living in the city of Weiser?
 3. What do you think are the biggest challenges facing the City of Weiser today?
 There is also a 1 to 10 ranking on specific statements, which include: Is Weiser a great place to live; Weiser has a charming, small-town character; There are strong business and economic opportunities in Weiser.
 Finally, there are optional demographic questions.
 To participate in the survey, visit www.surveymonkey.com/r/envisionweiser.
 

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Signal American

18 E. Idaho St.
Weiser, ID 83672
PH: (208) 549-1717
FAX: (208) 549-1718
 

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