The city of Hailey will update its comprehensive plan for the first time in six years and wants input from seven neighborhoods on how to do it.
Neighborhood workshops will be held every Thursday in October, asking residents and business owners three questions:
· What do you like about your neighborhood and Hailey?
· What would you change if you were "king for a day"?
· What do you want your neighborhood and Hailey to be like in 20 years?
"This is the first time we are doing this with a neighborhood approach," said Planning Director Beth Robrahn. "Hailey is getting big enough to start planning on a neighborhood level."
Robrahn said the workshops will allow the Planning Department to start understanding different issues that emerge from individual neighborhoods (such as south Woodside, Old Hailey and Northridge) and update the comprehensive plan accordingly.
She declined to speculate on what those issues might be.
"I would rather wait and listen. It's not important what the planning director thinks, but what the people of Hailey think," Robrahn said.
The updated Hailey Comprehensive Plan will set goals and guide development in the city over the next 20-30 years. Zoning and ordinance changes reflect the objectives set out by the comprehensive plan.
The current comprehensive plan calls for many quality-of-life features, including safety, cultural and economic diversity, sustainability and less dependence on cars.
"The plan does not sit on the shelf," wrote Robrahn in news release. "It is used regularly by the planning commission and City Council to evaluate projects submitted to the city for approval, and provides direction for well-informed land-use planning and zoning and subdivision regulations."
Hailey residents, business leaders, city-appointed commissions and community organizations will be invited by the Planning Department to join focus groups in order to provide further comment on the comprehensive plan.
During January, February and March, the Planning and Zoning Commission plan to hold six to eight public hearings on a draft comprehensive plan before finalizing it.
The City Council will review the final draft in April with a target date for final revisions in June.
Tony Evans: tevans@mtexpress.com
Neighborhood Workshops
· West Hailey (west of Main St): Oct. 1, 6-7:30 p.m., at Hailey City Hall.
· North Woodside (north of Baldy View) and East Hailey (all subdivisions east of Wood River Trail): Oct. 8, 6-7:30 p.m., Community Campus Room 301-302.
· Hailey Townsite and Northridge: Oct. 15, 6-7:30 p.m., Wood River Middle School.
· Central and South Woodside (all subdivisions south of Baldy View Dr.): Oct. 22, 6-7:30 p.m., Woodside Elementary Library.
· All commercial areas: Oct. 29, 8-9:30 a.m., Hailey City Hall.