COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE HOMEDEPARTMENTSPLANNINGPROJECTS & PLANSCOMPREHENSIVE PLAN Sub Menu COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE MENU SUMMARY GET INVOLVED LONG-RANGE PLANNING COMMITTEE DOCUMENT LIBRARY PROJECT SCHEDULE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS How should Saco grow in the future? What are our best features to protect or make even better? What changes does the city need to anticipate and plan for over the next decade? We’re continuing work on our next Comprehensive Plan, an important document which will provide guidance on these questions and others. It will describe a shared vision for our community's future that will inform policy and regulatory decisions over the next decade. Our current plan was adopted in 2011 and much has changed since then. We want to hear from you! Community input is vitally important throughout the planning process. Please share your thoughts and ideas with us at our interactive website, attend public events, and tell your friends and neighbors about the planning process. GET INVOLVED Virtual Open House: We want to hear from you! Visit our interactive website to view posters of our draft plan recommendations, take a survey to share your feedback, and use our interactive future land use map to tell us where you think future growth should go. The virtual open house will be available until December 12 but don’t wait! Virtual open house link: Social Pinpoint | Saco Comprehensive Plan (mysocialpinpoint.com) Draft Plan Open House: We were excited to host a successful open house at City Hall on November 17 to present our draft plan recommendations and hear from residents. Thanks to everyone who attended and shared your thoughts and feedback with us. It was great to see so many interested residents. Presentation pdf available at this link. Posters with draft plan recommendations available at this link: Meeting summary available at this link: Up Next: We’re gathering feedback from residents and City staff on draft plan recommendations during November and December. Based on this feedback, the plan will be revised and finalized for public hearings and adoption in early 2022. Sign up to be notified of upcoming public events and website updates. LONG-RANGE PLANNING COMMITTEE The Mayor formed a Long-Range Planning Committee (LRPC) to guide the comprehensive planning process. It includes representatives from City departments as well as community members. This committee will guide the planning process and oversee implementation after the plan is adopted. DOCUMENT LIBRARY Vision and Principles: Learn about the draft vision statement and guiding principles created for the comprehensive plan. These were developed with input from the public survey, LRPC members, and City staff. Public Input Summary – Visioning. A summary of what we heard during our first round of public engagement. It includes themes from comments on the interactive map and survey results. These will inform our draft vision statement for the comprehensive plan. Saco At A Glance 2021: A two-page summary explaining the topics in the comprehensive plan and providing a data dashboard that highlights key information about our community. DRAFT Market Analysis & Action Plan Matrix: This 2020 plan provides tangible recommendations to help guide Saco’s economic development policies and strategies. The Action Plan Matrix identifies priorities and catalytic strategies to help leverage targeted growth and maximize economic return. 2011 Comprehensive Plan: Our most recently approved Comprehensive Plan. 2018 Comprehensive Plan Update: This amendment to the 2011 Plan focuses on downtown and adds sections addressing sea level rise and arts and culture. 2021 Comprehensive Plan: Prepared for City Council to be presented at the 10/18/2021 Meeting. PROJECT SCHEDULE December 14, 2020: City Council voted to create the Long-Range Planning Committee to oversee the comprehensive plan process and its implementation January 21, 2021: Kick-off public meeting April/May 2021: Topic exploration Summer 2021: Plan development Fall 2021: Draft plan presentation Winter 2021/Spring 2022: Final plan review, adoption, acceptance by State FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS What is a comprehensive plan? A municipality’s comprehensive plan takes a long-range look at various topics that impact the city’s character, preservation and growth, and fiscal condition. It provides a shared community vision and policy framework that guides public and private decision-making. What is included in a comprehensive plan? Maine’s Comprehensive Planning and Land Use Regulation Act (MRSA Title 30-A) establishes requirements for a municipal comprehensive plan. It must include an inventory and analysis of current conditions and trends, a policy development section, implementation strategy section, regional coordination program, and implementation program. Inventory and analysis topics include economic and demographic data, water resources, natural resources, marine-related resources, forestry and agricultural land, parks and open spaces, transportation systems, housing stock, historical and archeological resources, land use and development patterns, and capital facilities and public services. How frequently must a comprehensive plan be updated? Once completed, the State of Maine reviews a municipality’s comprehensive plan and issues a Finding of Consistency if it meets the requirements. This Finding of Consistency is valid for twelve (12) years from the date of issue. Amendments to a comprehensive plan can be made at any time and do not reset the duration of the original consistency finding. Saco’s current comprehensive plan was adopted in 2011 and its Finding of Consistency expires in 2023. What opportunities will there be for the public to participate? Our virtual kickoff forum took place in January 2021. Topic workshops will be held in the spring, followed by a draft plan open house in the fall. The City will hold public hearings during the formal review and adoption process, anticipated to take place in late 2021 and early 2022. An interactive project website will host short surveys, mapping exercises, and other methods of collecting ideas and presenting in-progress work for review throughout the process. Click this link (note: this will take you off of the City of Saco website) to share your thoughts. How does a comprehensive plan relate to other City regulations and policies? “Comprehensive plans are the legal underpinning of zoning ordinances – intended to assure that the power of zoning is not used arbitrarily, unfairly, or without attention to documented needs.” The comprehensive plan should also guide the City’s Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), which identifies large public expenditures over the next five (5) years. Source: Richert, Evan, and Sylvia Most. “Comprehensive Planning: A Manual for Maine Communities”. Maine State Planning Office: 2005. How does this process relate to the 2018 update? The plan update adopted in 2018 focused primarily on downtown and added two new sections: sustainability and arts and culture. That update is not comprehensive nor citywide and does not extend the timeline for updating the entire comprehensive plan. How does this process relate to the Zoning Ordinance Revision? This comprehensive planning process is separate from the Zoning Ordinance Update, which was a key recommendation of the 2018 plan update. Once complete, the new comprehensive plan may recommend further zoning revisions to align with the community’s vision and demonstrated needs. COPYRIGHT © 2018 SACO, ME Home CFW Photography Greg Gallant Photography WEBSITE BYrevize., The Government Website Experts LOGIN GET NOTIFIED