Shavano Park City Council voted July 25 to initiate a monthslong process to update the town plan, the city’s comprehensive long-range planning guide.

Originally developed in 2010 and last updated in 2018, Shavano Park’s town plan helps to define the city’s goals and overall direction.

But Council Member Pete Miller proposed establishing a five-year cycle for reviewing the plan and revising it to reflect Shavano Park’s recent accomplishments, demographics and newer developments to better provide the community with a long-term strategy and collective vision.

“I think it’s important that we establish a five-year cycle for our plan,” Miller said.

Miller said implementing a five-year updating process for Shavano Park’s town plan also allows local officials and residents to re-emphasize the value of efforts put forth into developing the plan and realizing the objectives contained in the document.

According to Miller, updating the town plan will involve a multistep process, including a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats—or SWOT—analysis.

The 2018 plan also had a SWOT analysis and identified five planning areas for further examination: sidewalks and bicycle lanes, the condition of Northwest Military Highway, residential development, flooding and drainage, and improvements around the City Hall complex property.

Local officials said updating the town plan will involve the Shavano Park Planning and Zoning Commission, which will study a final draft update before the document undergoes a final council review.

The entire process will unfold between August and March, city officials said.

“It’s going to be a collaborative, ongoing process with numerous examples to provide input,” City Manager Bill Hill said, referencing efforts to collect feedback from council and community members.

Council members such as Lee Powers said they support a formal process of updating the town plan every five years but hope city staffers have the time and ability to work on it in addition to other projects and daily duties.

“I think it’s a great idea. It’s an aggressive thing that needs to be done, but let’s not overtax our resources,” Powers said.

Hill said city staff is able to efficiently work on updating the town plan, adding that city employees involved with developing Shavano Park’s fiscal year 2023 budget have completed most of their work.