The city of McAllen is seeking resident input on community needs to inform the city’s plans for the future.
Residents are invited to participate in an online survey that will help the city develop an updated comprehensive plan that will help maintain the city’s “character, enhance the quality of life for residents, and support economic development,” according to a news release issued by the city Tuesday.
Beginning this week, residents can participate in the survey by visiting the Envision McAllen website that can be found at www.mcallen2040.com.
There, residents can share ideas for what they’d like to see in the next 20 to 30 years.
“We want to hear from our residents as we begin to develop a bold comprehensive plan with sustainable ideas that allow for everyone to feel a part of what McAllen will look like, will be like in the future,” Mayor Javier Villalobos stated in the news release.
The comprehensive plan, which was last updated in 2007, will guide the city’s decisions related to transportation, infrastructure, land use, parks, economic development, community identity, development standards and incentives and implementation, the city said.
The city will also hold a series of community meetings and other engagement opportunities over the next 15 months where residents can provide feedback.
The first such event will be held during the city’s Freedom Festival on July 4 at Archer Park from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. McAllen staff and consultants on the comprehensive plan project will be there to survey residents and discuss what they would like to see in the city’s future.
The overall project will be broken up into four phases:
>> The initiation phase will consist of the physical, demographic and economic context of McAllen being reviewed to develop a snapshot of existing conditions and identify potential catalyst recommendations.
>> The second phase will be drafting the vision, the guiding principles and the goals by seeking community input through community engagement efforts.
>> The third phase will be developing the plan through committee and stakeholder meetings and community surveys.
>> The fourth phase will be to finalize the plan with the city commission.
To stay up to date on the process, review documents, learn about the team working on the plan, or to contact the city’s planning department, residents are encouraged to visit the Envision McAllen website.
“One of the great things about McAllen is our engaged community and their passion for helping to shape how the city has developed,” City Manager Roel “Roy” Rodriguez stated in the release. “By listening to them, the City of McAllen will be able to direct its growth for the benefit of every community member and every neighborhood.”
