Consultant sets comp plan course

Phases include field surveys, interviews, writing final version

A representative from the consultant the city recently hired to produce a new comprehensive plan laid out an itinerary this week.

The plan should take about a year to produce, said Peter Lombardi, director of revitalization planning for czb of Bath, Maine, told the city's Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee.

The plan will be done in three phases: discovery, engagement and production, Lombardi said.

Phase 1 or discovery, includes a review of existing city plans and policies, demographic and economic analyses and a housing-condition field survey -- plus the start of stakeholder interviews, Lombardi said.

The consultant plans to hire and train a handful of field surveyors to rate the condition of all city properties, scoring them 1 through 5 -- from great shape to blighted, Lombardi said.

The ratings will be cross-referenced with existing city data on code violations, building permits issued, absentee landlord ownership and sales data, Lombardi said.

The housing condition survey should be done by July.

Phase 2, or engagement, includes a continuation of stakeholder interviews, two rounds of "kitchen-table conversations," a community survey, two rounds of meetings in different areas of the city and delivery of a plan preview, Lombardi said.

The kitchen table conversations will involve steering committee members recruiting groups of 10 to 15 people -- perhaps neighbors or fellow members of boards -- for conversations on issues important to Altoona, Lombardi said.

Committee members can organize these discussions on their own or in cooperation with other committee members.

The final phase of work on the plan includes production of a draft plan, gathering of feedback, revisions based on that feedback, writing of the final version and its presentation and adoption, Lombardi said.

Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.