Comprehensive planning is how we create a shared vision for our future. The Town of Newport’s comprehensive plan guides legislative priorities, local laws, community projects, and more. However, the Town last reviewed the comprehensive plan in 2011 – thirteen years ago. It is time to return to the Town’s primary guiding document and create a renewed vision for our community that can act as a strategic roadmap for the next ten years and beyond. That vision must be genuinely inclusive of the opinions and input of all our residents and accurately represent what they want our community to be. The best way to ensure that is to have a clear plan development process that holds the plan development team accountable.
With that in mind, the Town Board has approved a seven-phase plan that integrates a combination of in-house resources and outsourcing of select tasks to create a revised Town comprehensive plan that analyzes our current community and creates a clear vision and action items for the future. The plan has substantial community engagement requirements to ensure that the final result is representative of the community and creates a Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee of Town officials and residents to guarantee internal accountability to the laid-out project timeline and its deliverables.
The plan will not only allow for the development of short-term and long-term strategic goals but will also enable our community to have a clear and tangible vision for the years ahead. To learn more about the plan and how to get involved, please visit the Comprehensive Planning webpage on the Town of Newport website.
All my best,
Nathaniel Lowell
Town of Newport Supervisor