Efforts to update the Cordova Comprehensive plan for the first time since 2008 are attracting the community’s attention.
Residents packed on to the stage at the North Star Theatre on Oct. 25 to participate in the first community conversation on the plan, facilitated by Agnew::Beck, the Anchorage consulting firm whom the Cordova City Council awarded the contract to on Aug. 15.
The project team includes Shelly Wade, project manager for Agnew::Beck; Chris Beck, a principal and founding partner of the firm; Agnew::Beck associate Molly Mylius and Lief Stavig, interim planning director for the city of Cordova.
During the Thursday night meeting, the project team asked questions about Cordova’s future, and accomplishments and challenges the city has faced over the last decade.
The response was praise for completion of the Cordova Center, festival growth and businesses such as Points North Heli, plus challenges including an undiversified economy, high cost of living and lack of waterfront infrastructure.
Meeting participants were a diverse group eager to share opinions, suggestions and hopes for Cordova’s future.
This fall Agnew::Beck plans to continue collecting information from residents, with plans for another community visit in late January or early February.
The comprehensive plan is to be finalized by this time next year.
A website created for the community to stay up-to-date on the plan schedule will also serve as a guide for decision-making on topics important to Cordova, including land use, housing and transportation.
Sign up online at www.cordovacompplan.com, for more information, email updates and to get involved.
Comprehensive Plan Committee members include Bret Bradford, Brooke Johnson, Cathy Renfeldt, Dave Zastrow, Katrina Hoffman, Kristin Carpenter, Nancy Bird, Tom McGann and ex-officio members Ken Jones and Melina Meyer.
