City of Peoria Press Release
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Peoria Seeks Community Input on Sonoran Preservation
Meetings to gather input from citizens for the best use of undeveloped land in Peoria.
6/5/2012
The city of Peoria's Planning Division will hold a series of four community meetings to
seek public input on the city's Open Space Prioritization, Preservation and
Acquisition Program. The meetings begin June 6, and the last meeting will be
held on July 26 at various locations throughout the city.
Peoria is
home to what many consider to be the last unspoiled and unprotected remnant of
the Sonoran Desert in the Phoenix-Metropolitan area. The city has always
considered this resource to be precious. In the late 1990s, the first formalized
preservation efforts by the city were adopted with the Desert Lands Conservation
Master Plan (DLCMP), which established general preservation criteria and
implementation tasks appropriate for the time.
Now, with
many of the original implementation tasks complete, the current economic
downturn, and subsequent slowing of development pressure has pushed the city
into the task of narrowing its focus to prioritize its preservation and
acquisition criteria. The Planning & Community Development staff has been
working closely with AECOM, a highly-regarded national land use and open space
planning consultant, to develop the scope and delivery method of the new Open
Space Prioritization, Preservation and Acquisition Program. This program intends
to balance preservation and land use, so where many preservation plans simply
isolate natural areas from the public, this program is focused on determining
community and stakeholders� values and reaching a mutual understanding of how
preservation can work for everybody.
This
program is currently in draft form and will be the subject of an upcoming series
of public outreach meetings where the City will seek input from the public,
landowners, and users of the City's undeveloped land. These meetings have been
scheduled for the dates and locations provided below.
The June
6 meeting will be videotaped and uploaded along with the draft document and a
comment field on the City of Peoria�s Planning & Community Development website
www.peoriaaz.gov/OpenSpace.
Community
Meetings Time and Locations
Meeting #1
June 6, 2012 @ 5:00 p.m.
DCSB Point of View Room
9875 N. 85th Avenue
Meeting #2
June 12, 2012 @ 6:00 p.m.
Vistancia Elementary School (library)
30009 N. Sunrise Point
Meeting #3
July 12, 2012 @ 6:00 p.m.
Peoria Chamber of Commerce
8631 W. Union Hills Dr. #203
Meeting #4
July 26, 2012 @ 6:00 p.m.
Sunrise Mountain Library
21109 N. 98th Ave
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