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What is a Comprehensive Plan?
Why take a regional approach to Comprehensive Planning?
What will the study address?
How much does the project cost and where is the money coming from?
What is NMSU's role in the project?
How long will the project take?
Who is working on the project?
How can I get involved?
What are the Focus Groups?
What is the role of the Advisory Committee and who is on it?
What is a Comprehensive Plan?
A Comprehensive Plan is the adopted official document of a local government that sets forth the goals, policies and guidelines, standards, maps, and statistical data intended to direct the present and future physical, social, aesthetic, and economic development that occurs within its planning jurisdiction. It is generally adopted by resolution, and its individual policies are implemented through the subsequent drafting and adoption of ordinances. While it deals with a wide variety of topics, its main focus tends to be land use and development decisions over a long-term planning horizon.
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Why take a regional approach to Comprehensive Planning?
There are several reasons. First, the current comprehensive plans for both the City and County are in need of updating. Since the data and analyses that will be used to generate both Comprehensive Plans will be similar, by combining the projects we can avoid a lot of duplication of effort and save taxpayer money. Second, City policies affect the County and vice-versa. It is therefore important that the local government policies are complimentary rather than contradictory, and a regional approach makes that more likely.
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What will the study address?
The study will address a wide range of growth-related issues, such as transportation, utilities and water, economic development, affordable housing, environmental protection, hazard mitigation, and intergovernmental cooperation. It will include extensive analysis of the current situation and a range of possible growth scenarios, which will result in specific policy recommendations. The recommendations from the regional study will be used for the second phase of the project: updates to the City of
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How much does the project cost and where is the money coming from?
The total project cost is approximately $400,000. Of this amount, $200,000 was granted to the region by the State Department of Finance and Administration (DFA), for the purposes of regional planning. The City of Las Cruces is contributing $150,000, and Dona Ana County is contributing $50,000.
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What is NMSU's role in the project?
The $200,000 from the DFA (see previous question) came with certain requirements. These included a cooperative regional effort between the City and the County, as well as certain specified issues that the plan must address, such as transportation, water, and housing. The DFA granted the money directly to NMSU, which will reimburse the local governments as the DFA's requirements are met. NMSU is also providing technical support, such as server space for file sharing and this website.
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How long will the project take?
The project is scheduled to be completed in Fall 2009. A working timeline of the project can be viewed by clicking here.
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Who is working on the project?
The City and County have contracted with Peter J. Smith & Co., Inc., a planning firm that specializes in municipal comprehensive plans, to complete the project. Both City and County staff will work closely with the consultant throughout the project.
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How can I get involved?
We plan on hosting 35 public meetings throughout the course of the project. Meeting times and locations will be posted on this website and advertised throughout the community. The public may also submit written comments at any time by clicking here, by e-mailing them to tschuster@las-cruces.org, or by sending hard copies to Thomas Schuster, PO Box 20000, Las Cruces, NM, 88004. To learn more about the project, please Contact us.
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What are the Focus Groups?
We want to make sure that we take advantage of all the expertise that exists in the community related to the subjects covered by Vision 2040. There are nine subject areas for which focus groups have been developed: Agriculture/Ranching, Arts/Culture/History, Business/Economic Development, Citizens/Neighborhood Organizations, Conservation/Recreation, Housing/Social Services, Real Estate Development, Transportation, and Utilities/Infrastructure. These focus groups roughly mirror the main elements of the plan. Because the focus groups are intended to solicit information from experts in the respective fields, participation in them is by invitation only (summary reports will be made available to the public). If you have ideas for who should participate in a particular focus group, we would be happy to hear from you. If we receive such a request after the focus group has met, we can set up an interview with the individual.
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What is the role of the Advisory Committee and who is on it?
The Advisory Committee is made up of volunteers from various organizations throughout the community. A list of members is available here. The state funding for this project mandated the formation of this committee, and required that representatives from certain organizations be invited to serve on it. City and County staff have invited additional individuals to serve. The role of the committee is to review draft documents and offer comments to staff and the consultant. All materials will also be available for review and comment by other organizations and the general public. We want to emphasize that the Advisory Committee is only one part of the process, and has no approval authority over the final document. Organizations with specific knowledge or expertise will be able to participate in focus group sessions beginning in March 2008, and may also request special meetings with staff. These opportunities are in addition to the 35 public hearings that are scheduled throughout the process.
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