The City of Newark’s Planning Commission and the Planning and Development Department is engaging City residents and stakeholders for its Comprehensive Development Plan V Five-Year Review. The purpose is to determine if the provisions, goals and action items in the 2016 Plan are still relevant given the changing conditions in the community over the past five-years.
As a part of this process, the City is hosting and inviting residents to a series of virtual “Coffee Break” Public Workshops. Five workshops are scheduled over a ten-day period at varying times to increase participation and accommodate schedules. The workshop schedule is as follows:
- Monday, March 8 at 10:00 a.m.
- Wednesday, March 10 at 3:00 p.m.
- Thursday, March 11 at 12:00 p.m.
- Friday, March 12 at 8:00 p.m.
- Tuesday, March 16 at 7:00 p.m.
The hour-long workshops will serve to educate the public on local planning issues with a short presentation followed by engaging participants in a “focus group” discussion. Residents interested in participating will be able to access the Coffee Breaks via Zoom and the links will be available on the City website, newarkde.gov/meetings.
A comprehensive development plan is a document of text and maps that addresses both short-and-long term planning concerns, as well as a rational basis for local land use decisions. The City of Newark’s Planning Commission is responsible for developing and updating a comprehensive development plan as part of its advisory role to City Council. In 2016, after an extensive, multi-year, planning process, the Planning Commission recommended, and City Council adopted, the Comprehensive Development Plan V (Plan V). Plan V can be viewed here.
In 2020, in preparation for the state required Five-Year Review, the Planning Commission developed and approved a “Plan for Planning”, (available at his link) that established a Steering Committee composed of a diverse range of stakeholders appointed by the Planning Commission, to led the planning process for the Five-Year Review and provide recommendations to the Planning Commission.
Input gained from the Coffee Break Virtual Public Workshops will help the Steering Committee with its review and recommendations. The Planning Commission will review the Steering Committee’s recommendations and present a final recommendation to City Council for adoption later this year.