Planners to hear monthly updates
Planning commissioners heard the first monthly update on the comprehensive plan during the meeting on Tuesday from Senior Planner Ben Rhoads.
The city has embarked in a new comprehensive plan and Rhoads said monthly status updates on the plan will be delivered to the planning commission.
Rhoads said the comprehensive plan is expected to take 18 months to complete.
Monthly updates will include information and events related to the new comprehensive plan that have been complete during the month as well as upcoming events to occur later in the month. The planning commission meets regularly on the second Tuesday of the month.
Rhoads said as a planning and zoning commission they should be aware of what’s going on with the comprehensive plan on a monthly basis.
Rhoads spoke about the upcoming public open house which will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. on March 18 at Siloam Springs Public Library and the survey related to the plan on siloam springs2040.com.
The public is encouraged to attend, Rhoads said. It will be an open house style so anyone who does not arrive exactly at six will not be turned away, Rhoads said.
Rhoads also told the commission about the survey. Rhoads said people can go to the website and sign up for updates and notifications as well as completing the survey which will give the city of an assessment of where Siloam Springs was as a community.
Planning Commissioner Ted Song asked Rhoads if mailers would be sent out to publicize the survey; when the last comprehensive plan occurred and if this was something that occurred every 12 years or so and how the last comprehensive plan impacted the city.
Rhoads said there will be a mailer placed into the utility bills inviting customers to take the survey. The first round of bills will be mailed out in mid-March and the second round will be mailed out approximately March 26, Rhoads said.
“Everybody in Siloam will be given an opportunity to at least be made aware of the plan and where to go to make comments,” Rhoads said.
There is not really a set time for new comprehensive plans, Rhoads said, but it is good practice to look at them once every 10 years. The last comprehensive plan was completed in 2008.
The biggest impact was the future land use map because that has been the primary guide to determine future growth, Rhoads said. He also said park additions, particularly Elena Chacon Memorial Park because there was no park on the south side of town before.
Planning Commissioner Bryan McKenzie asked Rhoads what the response rate for the survey was. Rhoads said he did not check the current numbers on Tuesday but said it has been fairly good.
Commissioner Isaac McKinney asked Rhoads to remind him when the survey closed. Rhoads told McKinney the survey closed on April 12, but there is a possibility that the survey might be extended to later.