SUBJECT:
Title
Update on the Elevate Erie Comprehensive Plan & Transportation Mobility Plan
Body
DEPARTMENT: Planning & Development
PRESENTER(S): Sarah Nurmela, AICP, Planning and Development Director
Carlos Hernandez, AICP, CTP, Principal Transportation Planner
Miguel Aguilar, Senior Transportation Planner
STAFF RECOMMENDATION:
Recommendation
Informational only.
End
SUMMARY AND BACKGROUND OF SUBJECT MATTER:
The Planning Commission requested an additional update on the Elevate Erie Comprehensive Plan and Transportation Mobility Plan process during the April 19, 2023, Planning Commission meeting. This staff report addresses questions related to the project timeline, community outreach goals and input to date, transparency of the process, and role of the Planning Commission.
The Elevate Erie Comprehensive Plan & Transportation Mobility Plan (TMP) kicked off with the Planning Commission in late 2022; a summary of the meetings and updates with the Planning Commission is provided below, following an overview of the Project Timeline. Project information may also be found online on the plan’s webpage: <https://erieco.us/comp-plan-and-tmp>.
Project Timeline
The project timeline includes four major phases, including: Initiation and Management, Plan Audit and Analysis, Defining the Direction, and Realizing the Plan. The project was kicked off in October, 2022, with initial outreach extending through the first quarter of 2023. The Project Team is well into the second phase of the project, which will culminate in an Existing Conditions and Issues Identification Report and Phase II Outreach Summary. The findings from Phase II will serve as a basis for Phase III’s exploration and definition of vision, overall guiding principles, and development of alternative scenarios to test and analyze.
Regular check-ins with the Planning Commission will continue to occur as the project moves forward. The team will work to schedule discussions during the following general timeframes, subject to modify as needed:
• May - June (Values and Vision, Existing Conditions, Factors Shaping the Plan)
• July - August (Visioning and Scenario Development)
• September (Scenario Review and Initial Analysis)
• September - October (Scenario Analysis, focus on Land Use)
• October - November (Preferred Direction and Goals)
• December (Overall Direction on the Draft Plans, Policy Development)
• January 2024+ Final Review of the Plans, Planning Commission recommendation, and approval decision by the Board of Trustees
The project timeline for Tasks 4 and 5 related to visioning and scenario planning, are pushed back into mid-summer and early fall to allow the Task 3 Existing Conditions, Issues and Opportunities to be completed by the consultant team; and accounting for staff changes and process adjustments. The Task 3 analysis coupled with the engagement collected so far, will set the stage for visioning and scenario development with the community, Board, and Commission.
Summary of Planning Commission meetings to date:
• October 5, 2022 - The town staff presented the initial project approach project and scope for the Comprehensive Plan and Transportation Mobility Plan to the Commission for feedback.
• November 16, 2022 - The project team updated the Commission on the Board of Trustees (BOT) approved Agreement for Professional Services for the selected consultant team, and discussed with the Commission the project timeline, project scope, including the initial engagement strategy and process framework.
• December 21, 2022 - Housing staff provided an update on the draft Housing Needs Assessment report. (The report was finalized in February, 2023, and posted to the Town’s website. The final report was attached to April 5, 2023 Planning Commission memo for informational purposes.)
• January 17, 2023 - The Planning Commission and Board of Trustees held a joint meeting during which the Project Team, including the consultants, provided an overview of the community outreach strategy and the structure and role of the Plan Advisory Committee (PAC). The team gathered input using online engagement tools and identification of key issues and opportunities with the Board and Commission.
• February 1st, 2023 - Staff provided an update on the results of the January 17th, BOT and PC joint meeting as well as the status of the Vision and Values online Survey and upcoming engagement activities.
• February 15, 2023 - Staff presented the initial survey results of the initial Vision and Values Survey and discussed the results with the Planning Commission. Raw data results were also provided to the Commission.
• April 5, 2023 -Staff presented an update the overall Elevate Erie project timeline, existing conditions snapshots, upcoming and planned community engagement, and an update on PAC and TAC meetings. The Commission voiced concerns and points of contention centered on diversity equity and inclusion, affordable housing, and the Commission’s role in the comprehensive plan update process. Staff followed-up with the Planning Commission with an email on April 12th that included a copy of the final meeting presentation, a list of future engagement activities, and the link to the elevate Erie webpage.
• April 19, 2023 - Planning Commission discussed the Elevate Erie Comprehensive Plan Update and Planning Commission Procedures, and requested further information (presented in this staff report) on the Elevate Erie Comprehensive Plan Update process in a special meeting.
Multiple meetings yet to be held at the time of this staff report include the May 16, 2023, BOT study session on Transportation Mobility Plan topics, to which the Planning Commission was invited; the May 17th Planning Commission study session on Housing; and a planned joint BOT / PC work session around visioning and guiding principles in the July, 2023 timeframe.
Community Engagement Intent
Elevate Erie will articulate a long-range vision for Erie’s future, with guidance for land use, community design and experience, multimodal transportation, and public services, among other topics. The resulting plan will build upon input from a broad range of residents, businesses, and active organizations and stakeholders within the community. The overall intent of the plan’s outreach process is to create an inclusive approach that incorporates all of Erie’s diverse voices and experiences. The goal of the outreach is to reach an understanding of the community’s needs and interests as a foundation for shaping the vision and final plan.
The outreach plan is designed to hear from all residents and stakeholders, with all input considered. Elevate Erie’s outreach plan includes reaching as many people as feasible, including those that may seldom participate or typically be heard in public processes. As a result, a wide range of input opportunities are planned, from in-depth meetings with focus groups and stakeholders to community-wide meetings and pop-up events that seek to reach residents and businesses where they already are and feel most comfortable. Please see the working Phase One Engagement Summary document (attached to this memo), for a more detailed discussion of the engagement activities to date.
The final adopted plans will be the community’s plan, not staff’s or the consultant’s vision, but the community’s vision as expressed and refined during the iterative planning process, to include visioning, scenario planning, and policy drafting. To date, the input received from the first phase of outreach includes many different perspectives and ideas in the community that have been expressed in engagement activities already, and the final Comprehensive Plan will no doubt be a balance of the community’s priorities.
Who are We Hearing From
The Phase One Engagement Summary document is underway and will provide a detailed breakdown of who we are hearing from, and the community engagement completed so far. Highlights include:
1. Phase One Vision and Values Survey - 699 submissions
2. Stakeholder feedback - 21 submissions from Schools and Education providers, Developers, and Resident Groups, Business owners so far.
3. Pop-Up community conversations and engagement: 70+ total participants at Fox Dog Coffee, Erie Social Club, Erie Community center, Bring you Child To Work Day (Townhall)
4. Community Events:
• Arbor Day and Striders Bike Derby April 29, approx. 150 participants
• Town Fair May 13 (not held yet at the time of this memo)
5. Online Engagement on the Elevate Erie webpage <https://erieco.us/comp-plan-and-tmp>:
• Ideas Wall for community amenities they’d like to see - 31 ideas shared so far.
• Mark the Map exercise - community members tell us what they love about Erie, and what can be improved 61 responses so far.
How will Community and Stakeholder Input be Used?
Input and information from engagement to-date will be used to establish initial draft ideas for the plan vision, guiding principles, and draft visioning for the Comprehensive Plan. These inputs including the Vison and Values Survey, online engagement responses, stakeholder conversations, input from public events, Planning Commission recommendations, BOT priorities and input, and PAC input. The townwide biennial survey may also be used to inform this stage of the plan.
A joint BOT / PC work session around visioning and guiding principles is in the planning stages for the July 2023 timeframe. Once initial draft ideas are developed, they will be presented back to the community. Input will be collected to see what sounds right, what sounds wrong, what’s missing, and what can be better. This is an iterative process, and patience and cooperation will be key. Draft guiding principles, vision, and similar ideas will also be presented to the Planning Commission (as well as other bodies such as the TAC, PAC, and BOT) for review and input.
Later this summer and fall, the project will progress to the creation and testing of land use and transportation scenarios. These scenarios will be developed to reflect the plan’s vision and issues and opportunities identified through community input and existing conditions and market analyses. These scenarios will be evaluated not just on outputs like vehicle miles traveled, fiscal impacts, and pollution and sustainability measures, but also by how well they align to the plan vision and guiding principles. Moreover, the community will weigh-in on the scenarios as well as the Planning Commission, PAC, BOT, and other stakeholders.
How is the Process Transparent?
• Planning Commission and Board of Trustee meetings are open and advertised to the public.
• Meetings and sessions with the Planning Commission and BOT include staff reports, presentations, and attachments that are posted online, and meetings can be viewed online by the public.
• To date, there have been nine meetings/agenda communications with the Planning Commission on Elevate Erie, with more planned in the future - as outlined in the Project Timeline section of this memo.
• All final plans require a recommendation by the Planning Commission, and adoption by the Board of Trustees at public hearings.
• Summaries of TAC and PAC meetings are posted online on the Elevate Erie webpage, also as noticed on the Town Calendar.
• In addition, Town Communications posts to the town’s Facebook page to publicize community engagement events and the Elevate Erie webpage.
• The consultant team is working on establishing a periodic newsletter that will be sent out from the Elevate Erie webpage to inform people who have opted into such communications.
• The consultant team is processing comments from the outreach to-date and will add them to the ongoing Engagement Summary and Scrapbook documents in an on-going manner. Completed engagement summaries will also be posted online to the project Elevate Erie Webpage for each engagement series outlined in the project scope.
Role of the Planning Commission
The Planning Commission’s role in development and adoption of the Comprehensive Plan and Transportation and Mobility Plan is to make a formal recommendation of approval or otherwise to the Board of Trustees when final draft plans are presented. The Planning Commission also has the opportunity to review information and make suggestions to the Project Team at the periodic meetings outlined above. In addition, the Planning Commission is represented on the PAC, which provides additional opportunity to weigh in during the planning process.
The Project Team is comprised of the Town’s professional planning staff and a robust consultant team. Town Administration directs Town staff’s work, who in turn directs the consultant work.
Engagement events are conducted by Town staff and/or the consultant team. Planning Commissioners can notify community members about engagement events, forward or share notices and prepared project materials, and participate as residents in engagement events. Unless specifically asked by the Project Team, Planning Commission members will not have a role at Elevate Erie engagement activities.
ATTACHMENTS:
1. Draft Ongoing Engagement Scrapbook
2. Draft Phase 1 Engagement Summary
3. PAC #2 meeting summary