By Heather Williams, MAP Board of Directors—
Muncie, IN—The last comprehensive plan for Delaware County was completed in 2000. Much has changed over the last twenty years within the city of Muncie and the many towns and unincorporated areas of our county. The comprehensive plan presents a vision for the future of land use and development within Delaware County and provides specific goals related to transportation, infrastructure, parks and open space, among others.
The Delaware-Muncie Metropolitan Plan Commission has partnered with the Muncie Action Plan board of directors and NEXT Muncie to combine their comprehensive plan update with an update to the city of Muncie’s strategic investment plan, which is commonly known as MAP. The last large-scale MAP planning process took place in 2009 and although two updates have been completed since, it is time to re-visit the document with another large-scale engagement effort whereby residents help create a new vision for Muncie’s growth and investment.
The Plan Commission, NEXT Muncie, and MAP’s board of directors worked to develop a request for proposals and a process to hire a consultant to guide our communities through this process. Federal funds and private dollars will cover all costs. Sixteen firms responded to the request for proposals to complete both the comprehensive plan and strategic investment plan and from these responses, three firms have been selected to participate in in-person interviews. These interviews will be live-streamed on the City of Muncie’s Facebook page and the community is invited to both view and interact with the process via the online platform. The meeting dates and times for these presentations are Friday, November 6th 10:00-11:30 am, Tuesday, November 10th 9:00-10:30 am, and 10:30-noon.
Once a firm is selected and a contract signed, the consultant will work with the Delaware-Muncie Metropolitan Plan Commission, NEXT Muncie, and MAP’s board of director’s to develop a plan to engage residents during this uncertain time when gathering in large numbers is discouraged. We will work to find creative ways to ensure that everyone’s voice is heard, because our future should not be determined for us, but by us.
The process is expected to continue throughout next year, with the presentation of final plans in late 2021 – early 2022. More information about future meetings and opportunities to get involved will be shared as they become available. For questions about this process, please contact the MAP Coordinator at mapcoordinator@muncieactionplan.net
