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Welcome to Comprehensive Planning! This website provides information about and updates on the new Comprehensive Plan for the City of Soldotna. The plan is called “Envision Soldotna 2030,” a title that reflects our objectives of creating a plan that is forward-thinking, and based on the goals and vision identified by members of our community. The web site will be frequently updated as we move through the year-long process, so please check back often for updates and draft documents as they come available. We invite you to explore it and give us your feedback! The City of Soldotna is working with DOWL HKM to create a new Comprehensive Plan that will guide future growth and development throughout the City. Soldotna’s location, at the junction of two of the Kenai Peninsula’s main highways, its role as the business center of the Peninsula, and its unique natural resources make the City a special place in south-central Alaska. Our community has grown and changed in the nearly 14 years since our last comprehensive plan was adopted, and a new plan is needed to help guide land use and development decisions. The goal of Envision Soldotna 2030 is to provide implement-able policies – based on goals identified by the community – that will shape and direct new growth and development in a manner that promotes the health of the Kenai River, the quality of the built environment, and the operational and fiscal efficiency of providing transportation and other public infrastructure. A Comprehensive Plan is a guide, to be considered when making decisions concerning growth and development in a community. It is a document that contains the hopes, dreams and goals a community holds for itself. It describes how, and at what pace, the community desires to develop physically, economically, and socially. The plan functions much like a roadmap; it is a means to an end. Comprehensive Plans allow us to:
There is a common misconception that if we do nothing, our community will remain unchanged. In reality, our community will continue to grow and change but if we do not plan, it will be a change that we have very little control over. The citizens of Soldotna have expressed their vision for the City several times in the past. The last update to the Comprehensive Plan was adopted in 1995 (a revision to the original 1979 and 1986 revised plans). Other plans and studies have been completed since including the Mainstreet Alaska Conference (1995), Roads and Trails Master Plan (2001), and Soldotna Municipal Airport Master Plan (2004). These documents are available for your review at City Hall, 177 North Birch Street in Soldotna.
Comprehensive Plans contain a wealth of information about:
One of the first tasks in the process is to identify a shared community vision. The vision statement should be drafted from shared values identified by the public. It is a statement which identifies what is unique and important to our community, and the values we hold. Plans are typically arranged into chapters organized around: the natural environment; local economy; housing; transportation; land use; parks and recreation; and community facilities. Within these chapters, individual goals are identified, as well as strategies which may be implemented in order to achieve these goals. While goals can be somewhat general, strategies are specific. They identify how, where, and what will be done (as well as who will do it) and form the plan’s “to-do” list. A comprehensive plan cannot effect change all by itself. Once adopted, the plan must be implemented through various means to achieve its goals and objectives. Several ways to implement a comprehensive plan include:
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- Meetings - Comments - Maps |
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Page Last Updated: September 28, 2009 |
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