After awarding a contract to Agnew Beck consulting firm for the development of a new comprehensive plan at the Oct. 23 regular meeting, Homer City Council continues progress on that front.

At their last regular meeting on Nov. 27, the council passed an amended Resolution 23-129, supporting the creation of a steering committee to aid in the development of the new comp plan. The five-member steering committee will be made up of two city council members, two city commission members, and one city resident.

Homer’s comprehensive plan is “a long-term planning document meant to encapsulate the core of what residents believe the city’s goals and focus should be going forward,” Homer News previously reported. For this to be achieved, an effective public participation process is key and “includes the formation of a steering committee comprised of a well-rounded group of community members to help guide the project,” a Nov. 7 memorandum from city planner Ryan Foster to the council says.

According to the memo, public notices requesting application will be posted, “with the goal of approving the creation of the steering committee in Jan. 2024, in time to help prepare for the first phase of public outreach events.”

Appointees to the steering committee will be nominated by the mayor and approved by the council.

Per Resolution 23-129, the steering committee will serve two purposes — assisting in the refinement and execution of the comp plan public outreach process and participating in the comp plan public outreach activities and events.

The first purpose, called “Goal #1” in the resolution, sets a time frame of January/February 2024 and will involve the committee members working with consultants and city staff to create a public outreach plan, including notifications to the public and an outreach schedule.

The second purpose, also called “Goal #2,” sets a time frame of February-May 2024 and asks committee members to work with each of their represented organizations to keep them informed on the project and encourage their participation, actively solicit participation from a wide range of people and organizations in the community, and participate in event exercises and provide feedback.

In the Nov. 7 memo, Foster also noted that the city “will likely want to have a similar committee formed when we transition to the zoning code update, however, that is a much more technical document and it may be a good idea for Council to consider recruiting new members for that task when the time comes.”

The full resolution and backup materials are available online at www.cityofhomer-ak.gov/resolution/resolution-23-129-establishing-comp-plan-title-21-steering-committee.

The Homer City Council does not have a regular meeting scheduled during the month of December.

The next regular meeting will be held on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024, at 6 p.m. in the City Hall Cowles Council Chambers.