City of Marion to conduct community Visioning workshop ...

Tommy Tucker Realty Co. has served a variety of customers and clients over the years in Marion, Iowa. As a part of the greater Cedar Rapids area, a healthy Cedar Rapids and a healthy Marion go hand and hand. We received the following release today regarding the update in the City of Marion Comprehensive Plan.

The public is encouraged to participate in the Visioning process ...

The City of Marion is in the process of developing a new/updated Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan is intended to serve as a “road map” to help guide community policy and decision making for issues ranging from community character and aesthetics to targeted redevelopment and open space. The Comprehensive Plan will establish a long-range vision for the community, define community goals and objectives, and provide guidance for implementing programs and policies to assist in making positive change for the City of Marion.

We need your input…Building on a comprehensive inventory and assessment of existing market conditions, existing physical conditions and community input, the comprehensive planning process has identified several planning issues the community is currently facing or will likely face in the future. Having completed this initial assessment of the local planning context, we have reached a critical juncture in the planning process and need your input. The next step in the creation of a new Comprehensive Plan is to establish the community’s vision for the future that will address the identified issues and define the direction of development in and around Marion for the next 10 to 15 years. To accomplish this, a Community Visioning Workshop will be held at the Art for Living Center (Lowe Park), located at 4500 10Th Street, Marion, at 6:00 P.M. Tuesday, June 23rd.

The Visioning Workshop will begin with a brief overview of the comprehensive planning process and the results of the existing conditions and market analysis. The workshop participants will then be broken up into small focus groups where individuals will have the opportunity to express their opinion regarding specific issues and concerns. The groups will draw and visualize draw on large maps of the community highlighting improvements, ideas and concepts for future consideration. This creative exercise will give participants the opportunity to literally sketch their own plans for the future. The results of the individual focus groups will then be used to establish a collective community vision statement. The vision statement will be a narrative description of Marion in 10 to 15 years and will be used to form the goals, objectives, and, ultimately, the recommendations of the Comprehensive Plan.

The new Comprehensive Plan is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2009. Please visit the Comprehensive Plan Project website, which can be reached via a link on the City’s web page (http://www.cityofmarion.org/) for regular updates. For any questions or comments related to the Comprehensive Plan, please contact the City of Marion Planning and Development Department.

Remember, if you are interested, you are welcome to attend this event on June 23rd at 6 PM at Lowe Park, located at 4500 10Th street, in Marion.

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