Santa Maria looking for community input to help guide city growth for the next 20-30 years
SANTA MARIA, Calif. - The City of Santa Maria is reaching out to the community and seeking public input as it works towards updating its General Plan.
"The general plan for the City of Santa Maria really maps the future of the city," said Chenin Dow, Santa Maria Community Development Director. "It plans out where things are zoned for, what kind of growth we're going to have, and really gives us an opportunity to envision the future. This current General Plan is going to take us out through 2045. We're envisioning some annexations to happen during that time and we're expecting about 30,000 to 40,000 people increase in population, so we are trying to plan for that and make sure that those impacts are positive growth for our community."
With city leaders now working on the update, members of the public are encouraged to actively take part in the ongoing process.
"Public engagement is absolutely crucial to a successful planning process," said Dow. "We want to ensure that the community we're shaping is going to meet the needs of every individual in this community. We really encourage the public to come out and make their voices heard. We want to hear those diverse perspectives, hear their diverse needs, and make sure all of those are reflected in the final plan."
A series of public workshops and in-person opportunities are scheduled in the near future that will allow community members with an opportunity to provide input.
- Planning Commission Study Sessions on February 20, at 1:30 p.m. at Shepard Hall in the Santa Maria Public Library
- Office Hours with Planning Staff:
- Wednesday, February 19 at 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Zoom
- Wednesday, February 26, 1 p.m to 2:30 p.m. in the Community Development Department Conference Room
In addition, all of the information about Santa Maria's General Plan update, as well as a form for providing feedback are available at the project website: https://www.imaginesantamaria.com/policy-frameworks
