Council members and the City Plan Commission met for a joint work session July 31 to discuss how many people were engaged by the city’s consultants for the project and provide guidance on next steps before the second round of public feedback this fall.
Current situation
Consultants from Kimley-Horn and Prologue Planning Services said during the joint work session there were over 7,300 individual interactions with the public during the first round of public engagement between June 24 and July 16. Mark Bowers, urban design and practice planning builder with Kimley-Horn and Associates, said a web portal for the comprehensive plan received over 5,900 unique visitors between its launch March 20 and July 21.
The website provides an overview of what a comprehensive plan is and also provides opportunities to apply for a project ambassador position for the review. Some members of the joint committee said they wanted a more representative sample in feedback collected, which City Manager Don Magner said would require a different feedback-gathering process.
Bowers said a further joint session is planned for December or January to review comments received during the second public engagement window set to open in September or October.
What they’re saying
“Each of the three sections that ask for feedback are purposely titled preliminary,” Magner said. “Tonight, what we hope to do is reconcile what we heard from our stakeholders, community at large and from you, [City Council and the City Plan Commission], as two very important bodies that will help us shape this comp plan as we move forward. We’re not here to decide anything tonight, recommend anything or talk about next steps in any kind of definitive way.”
Also of note
Prologue Planning Services Principal Monica Heid said the first feedback window helped identify areas of focus that mattered to the Richardson community. Among them were city infrastructure, land use, and mobility and transportation, according to documents in the agenda packet.
Heid said those areas and more will be incorporated into the next planning phase of the comprehensive plan’s guiding principles, strategic direction and vision statement.
Kimley-Horn Planner Jessica Rossi said the public was also asked about four reinvestment areas while consultants considered an additional two. The areas included:
- Coit Road
- A corridor near Belt Line Road and Plano Road
- A corridor near Belt Line Road and Bowser Road
- East Spring Valley Road between US 75 and Weatherred Drive
- West Arapaho Road
- West Campbell Road
