Ely's Comprehensive Plan LIVE
Ely Comprehensive Plan
City of Ely
In June 2023, the City of Ely began the process of updating its Comprehensive Plan (Comp Plan). The Comp Plan guides growth, land use decisions, and future investments. The City is also investing in economic development with the recently adopted Downtown Master Plan and the annual Capital Improvement Plan. These plans support growth and opportunities for commercial and light industrial development as well as recreation and tourism.
Throughout the process, Ely, in partnership with consultant Bolton & Menk, Inc. reviewed existing conditions and long-term goals and engaged with the community to better understand issues and opportunities in creating a plan. Analyzing existing conditions included reviewing existing plans, current development efforts, and researching top issues. The goal of the updated comp plan is to establish an implementable road-map that drives growth and opportunity in Ely.
From the beginning of the project through the end of July, print and digital engagement opportunities were employed to gather information from the community. This engagement included website creation and updates, social media posts, newsletters, steering committee and stakeholder meetings, and an online survey. There were 219 responses to the online survey and numerous comments received through in-person and digital conversations.
The comments and survey results were analyzed to determine common themes that allowed the team to quantify the issues and opportunities for the Comp Plan. The top themes that emerged were residents enjoy the small town feel of the community and there are ample opportunities for economic development and quality of life amenities.
After finding common threads from community engagement, the project team identified specific, action-focused goals to guide the updated Comp Plan. The team reviewed the proposed plan with the steering committee and made refinements based on their feedback.
The draft plan will be available for public review on the project website from December 1 – 19, 2023. There will be a digital comment card available to submit feedback on the draft. The City will a hold a public hearing on Monday, December 18 and public comment will close on Tuesday, December 19. The City Council will review the plan and vote to adopt the plan update during the January 2 Council meeting.
Visit the project website at: https://arcg.is/1Omzr1 to review the draft plan and to leave your feedback for the project team.