Residents and community leaders collaborate to offer input on the city's future
Cedar Park took one small step Feb. 21 toward building its future when the newly appointed Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee met for its first work session. The 14-member group of resident volunteers, community leaders and City Council members conferred with city staff and engineering consultant group Freese and Nichols about the purpose of the ad hoc committee.
"If we didn't have a plan or a guide for the city, Cedar Park would still go on. It's just easier for appointed officials to make decisions about development if there's a plan," said Dan Sefko, group manager at Freese and Nichols. "No city that does these comprehensive plans can afford to do everything in them, so we set priorities instead of doing it all at once."
During the next year, the committee will meet monthly to discuss and create different sections of the master plan. The process begins with building a community snapshot and city vision.
"If you look at a map of Cedar Park, you're starting to fill out," Sefko said. "There's some vacant land left but not a lot, so I think at some point you'll have to think about redevelopment in the next 20 years."
