Comprehensive Plan

 Process toward completion and adoption of all new chapters of the Comprehensive Plan: 2015-2016

• November 11th - Comprehensive Plan Public Open House: 5:30p.m. - 6:30p.m. Written comments were solicited at this time. Special Plan Commission Meeting 6:30p.m. to review Comprehensive Plan and other business as needed. 
• November 18th - Plan Commission Meeting: 6:30p.m. (Public Comment were part of agenda and written comments were solicited.) - Comprehensive Plan chapter update and other business was on the agenda. 
• December 1st – Open House for Public review of the Comprehensive Plan - 6p.m. to 7p.m. prior to Common Council meeting. Responses to written comments from the Public was provided at the Council’s meeting on this date. 
• December 15th – 7p.m. Presentation of the Draft Comprehensive Plan at Common Council Meeting

Ongoing Public Participation and Information during Chapter update process beginning in 2013:

• 2013 – 16   Public Information & Public Participation was implemented to include materials and drafts to be reviewed by the Plan Commission on the Comprehensive Plan with any notices of Plan Commission Meetings for posting on The City of St. Francis Website Agenda Center.

• January/February 2014   An On-line Survey was completed by citizens and businesses referring to issues in some chapter updates of the Comprehensive Plan.  Businesses received post cards asking them to respond.  Personal emails were sent to residents asking them to do the survey with the link.  A work group of citizens formed by the Mayor reviewed the data from the surveys and it was reported to the Plan Commission.  Commissioners also received all the detail survey data for review.
• August of 2014 – A review of the Comprehensive Plan was done for a group of St. Francis business, City officials and officials from WEDC and WHEDA at Wixon industries.  City Council and Plan Commission received a binder with the Chapters that were updated to date of the Comprehensive Plan.
• 2013, 2014 & 2015 - Public Meetings with Graef, the consultant for the Comprehensive Plan.
• November 20, 2013:  Joint Meeting with Planning Commission and Community Development Authority
• May 20, 2014:  Common Council Development Session - Comprehensive Plan Update and Catalytic Site Discussion

• To complete the Comprehensive Plan adoption process the Public including citizens and property owners alike are to be invited to comment and review the City of St. Francis Comprehensive Plan prior to approval.  This is an effort to help provide the Public with an understanding of the Plan and its recommendations and guidelines for the City of St. Francis and offer all citizens, businesses, interest groups, housing authorities, affected units of government, and other parties a range of opportunities to participate through the planning process in a meaningful way to shape the future of the City of St. Francis.   Our public participation process will:
  • Ensure all planning decisions are open to public comment;
  • Produce better planning decisions;
  • Support and add credibility to all City decision-making processes;
  • Provide opportunities to disseminate information about the Plan and process to all segments of the City;
  • Strengthen the relationship between our decision makers and citizens; and,
  • Develop a shared vision for the future of the City of St. Francis
• Below is the Statute language and the schedule for Public Participation to be adopted by the Plan Commission for recommendation to the Common Council.
• State Statute 66.1001 –“4(a) The governing body of a local governmental unit shall adopt written procedures that are designed to foster public participation, including open discussion, communication programs, information services, and public meetings for which advance notice has been provided, in every stage of the preparation of a comprehensive plan. The written procedures shall provide for wide distribution of proposed, alternative, or amended elements of a comprehensive plan and shall provide an opportunity for written comments on the plan to be submitted by members of the public to the governing body and for the governing body to respond to such written comments. The written procedures shall describe the methods the governing body of a local governmental unit will use to distribute proposed, alternative, or amended elements of a comprehensive plan to owners of property, or to persons who have a leasehold interest in property pursuant to which the persons may extract nonmetallic mineral resources in or on property, in which the allowable use or intensity of use of the property is changed by the comprehensive plan”.