Duncanville Mayor Encourages Input From Citizens
DUNCANVILLE—There are drastic improvements in store for Duncanville as city leaders work to construct a comprehensive plan for future municipal growth.
“It is an exciting time for our city as we begin to plan for the future,” said Duncanville Mayor David Green. “Our citizens’ input is important. We encourage them to become involved and voice their opinion on how they envision Duncanville for future generations.”
Citizen input is needed for the city’s new Comprehensive Plan and the first of several public meetings will take place on August 17, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. at the D.L. Hopkins, Jr. Senior Center.
“The City Council adopted a work plan for 2015-2016 that included a major objective to create a city-wide comprehensive plan. The Council appointed a Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee to give direction to the planning team and to help guide the comprehensive planning process. The city hired me as City Planner in October 2015 to oversee this effort and to ensure that future development and redevelopment is aligned with the vision established in the comprehensive plan,” said Chasidy Allen.
While there have been many community developments over the years in Duncanville, this is the city’s first Comprehensive Plan in its 134 year history.
Destination Duncanville Shapes The Future
According to Allen ‘Destination Duncanville’ will primarily focus on garnering resident support and input via the following methods:
Input Boards – There will be input boards in the foyer of City Hall, at the Duncanville Public Library, the D.L. Hopkins, Jr. Senior Center, and the Fieldhouse for citizens to write down their vision for the future of Duncanville.
Destination Duncanville Website – As part of the plan development process, a website has been created to disseminate information, gather input, and provide updates on the progress of the Comprehensive Plan. The web site, DestinationDuncanville.com, will be the main source of information for those interested in keeping up on the status of the plan.
Community Survey – On the DestinationDuncanville.com web site, is a community survey. The information in this survey will aid the planning team in becoming familiar with Duncanville, its strengths, and its weaknesses from the perspective of its everyday users.
Community Wide Meeting – Perhaps the most important way to give input on the Comprehensive Plan is to attend the first community wide meeting that will be held on Wednesday, August 17, 2016 at the D.L. Hopkins, Jr. Senior Center, 206 James Collins Blvd, Duncanville, TX 75116. Check-in will begin at 6:30 p.m. and the meeting will begin at 7:00 p.m.
Addressing Issues Including Infrastructure
The plan is designed as a framework for guiding future development, redevelopment and community enhancement throughout the next 20 years and beyond. The Comprehensive Plan also serves as a tool to address a variety of issues including but not limited to: land use, housing, infrastructure, transportation and economic development.
The public meeting is being hosted by city officials in partnership with representatives from Freese and Nichols, Inc., the consultant company contracted for the Comprehensive Plan project.
Allen said that the Comprehensive Plan serves as a “blueprint” for future growth in Duncanville and will include maps and policies that describe how land may be used and the public facilities needed to serve them.
Planning For Future Land Use
“This entails developing a Future Land Use Plan,” said Allen. “The plan will also define land use categories as well as identify remaining developable areas and creating land use/character guidelines for each location. The plan will also provide identification of redevelopment and transition areas, identify trends that are applicable, suitable and able to be incorporated within Duncanville city limits.”
In order to achieve the concepts and vision contained in the plan, the city will eventually adopt capital improvement plans, zoning and other land development regulations.
During the course of the comprehensive planning effort, existing plans will also be evaluated to ensure they are consistent with future city planning goals.
Allen said that while specific changes to current plans have not been identified, the Downtown Master Plan, will be revisited to guarantee the established vision for that area is still intact and achievable.
“The entire Comprehensive Plan process typically is completed within a 12 to 18 month time frame, with tentative adoption of the plan in July 2017,” concluded Allen.
