PORT ANGELES — The city of Port Angeles is soliciting community feedback throughout September for its comprehensive plan update.
City planning supervisor Ben Braudrick said “the community itself should be the driver for the comprehensive planning process.”
The comprehensive plan outlines the city’s vision, identity and development strategies for the next 20 years. It establishes policies for land use, parks, transportation, housing and more, and explores how the city will address the complex issues it is facing.
A community feedback survey, which opened in August and will close Sept. 13, kickstarted the feedback process. The survey can be completed by anyone who lives or works in Port Angeles.
Braudrick said the city will use the survey to decipher how the community wants to prioritize the different topics covered by the comprehensive plan.
As of last week, Braudrick said the survey had gotten hundreds of responses.
City staff also is gathering feedback in person at the Port Angeles Farmers Market, the Clallam County fair, local stores, Concerts on the Pier and more. To see a list of upcoming places city staff will be at, visit the comprehensive plan periodic update page on the city’s website.
Individuals also can share input or ask questions by emailing vision2045@cityofpa.us, Braudrick said.
Braudrick said the process will culminate in a 2½-day storefront studio event on Sept. 23-25 at the 4PA Campus at 230 E. First St.
“That’s where the community can begin to physically interact with the process,” Braudrick said.
This drop-by event will have an informative gallery, interactive opportunities and three workshops. It will conclude with a planning commission meeting.
“It’s meant to generate excitement,” Braudrick said. “[We’re] really asking what the community feels about the future, what are the things they’re excited about, and what they’re concerned about and what kind of changes they want to see.”
Braudrick said the city also wants to see if its goals for the comprehensive plan are affirmed by citizens, and if not, how the goals should be revised.
The city’s first major goal is to re-evaluate its core environmental impact statement and general land use, Braudrick said. As part of that, the city plans to look at neighborhood districts and neighborhood engagement, with the potential to redistrict.
Another goal is to examine different modes of transportation.
A third goal is to work with Clallam County jurisdictions to develop a joint hazard mitigation plan that will be introduced into the climate resiliency plan.
Braudrick said the final goal is to examine housing and potentially revise the housing action plan.
After the storefront studio event, the city will continue to provide opportunities for individuals to engage with the update. Braudrick said the city’s goal is that “every member of the community knows that it’s happening and has been given an opportunity to interact.”
The comprehensive plan is only “as good as it is used,” Braudrick said. To ensure it is used, the city will include implementation components in the plan.
“A lot of this is going to hinge on action,” Braudrick said. “It’s not just going to be goals and policies.”
Braudrick said the plan “trickles into basically everything,” including the city’s general budget, the forecasted budget, parks and recreation, transportation, utilities and more.
“We’re looking 20 years in the future, throwing a rock 50 years in the future, and [we] have check-ins periodically to make sure we’re moving on the right path,” Braudrick said.
The state’s Growth Management Act requires cities to update their comprehensive plans every 10 years.
________
Reporter Emma Maple can be reached by email at emma.maple@peninsuladailynews.com.
