City of Woodland Park Unveils New 2030 Master Plan

Futuristic, Comprehensive Blueprint Done Every 10 Years
 
 
Bob Volpe
 
The long awaited draft of the 2030 Woodland Park comprehensive plan, more commonly known as the town’s grand master plan, is now available for public viewing and for citizen comments.
 
 
The draft can be found on the city’s website at; https://plan.konveio.com/envision-woodland-park-2030-public-draft
 
 
Every 10 years, the city undergoes a review and update of its master plan, a subject that can get quite testy. Recently, El Paso County got into a big debate over its future planning blueprint for the next decade.
 
 
The purpose of the comprehensive plan is to help guide land-use decisions, help prioritize city actions, allocate limited resources, and foster public and private partnerships to confront common challenges.
 
 
This master plan is the culmination of countless hours of surveying, discussing, writing, debating, re-writing and refining Woodland Park’s long-term plan for the future. This plan articulates core community values and goals and provides direction for achieving these goals. Just as pilots map their flight plan, the Woodland Park comprehensive plan is intended to help chart the course to follow for Woodland Park community leaders, city council, staff and the city’s many boards and committees.
 
 
The master plan is intended to be a living document that will serve the city for the next decade. It often becomes a key guide for policy decisions.
 
 
This decade’s plan encompasses a host of subjects, from land use/growth, housing and community character, to city finances, economic development and sustainability as well as parks, trails, and open space.
 
 
The plan breaks down those subjects to tackle issues with water and wastewater, public safety, emergency management and resiliency, transportation and drainage, community well-being, arts, culture and community heritage.
 
 
Digital Meetings Dominate Process
 
 
Due to launching the plan during the COVID pandemic, most of the outreach for community involvement and participation was done digitally. The consultants (Logan Simpson) received over 1,000 online questionnaire responses from citizens.
 
 
A hybrid in-person and digital Town Hall was conducted in April. About 80 participants discussed what people love about Woodland Park and the best opportunities for improvements. The event was broadcast over Zoom and included text polling with live results that both the in person attendees and those on Zoom could see simultaneously and discuss as a group.
 
 
A high school civics class was also engaged early in the process by way of Zoom to get feedback from the younger generation on what they love about Woodland Park and they would like to see improved. A digital charrette program, called Mural, was utilized to allow the students the opportunity to move ideas around a digital whiteboard and categorize their importance. The result was a list of places and activities that want to see incorporated into the overall programming of the city.
 
 
A booth was set up at the local Old Fashioned 4th of July Celebration to further solicit community input into the draft plan. All outreach activities were heavily promoted.
 
 
Hefty Growth Expected, Depending on Water
 
 
According to the draft, Woodland Park’s population is expected to grow by 11 percent by the year 2025. However, this growth depends on water. According to city staff, Woodland Park has a total water supply of 1,475-acre feet/year. Due to conservation and water wise initiatives, there is enough water to grow to a population of 13,600.
 
 
This master plan process has not gone without criticism and debate by city council. As early as last April, some on council objected to the cost ($100,000 split evenly between the city and grant money), concerns over property rights, and the language in the contract with Logan Simpson. The same firm did a big master plan for Green Mountain Falls several years ago
 
 
The draft is still just that, a draft, noted city officials. Comments and suggestions are still being taken from citizens, stakeholders, and businesses. Interested parties can find and comment on the draft at; https://plan.konveio.com/envision-woodland-park-2030-public-draft
 
Once public comment is closed, and the document is finalized, it will have to go before city council for approval.