Title
Consider a presentation regarding online public engagement results and policy development associated with the Round Rock 2030 Comprehensive Plan.
Body
Planning and Development Services is currently working on the City’s comprehensive plan, Round Rock 2030. At the Council meeting, staff will present the results of our latest round of public input collected utilizing Polco, an on-line engagement tool.
A list entitled, “Round Rock 2030 Policies” is included as an attachment. It includes the latest set of 12 policies that incorporates all of the feedback on the policies received to date. Staff would like to ensure that you agree with these policies which will form the basis of Round Rock 2030. Additionally, three (3) Polco reports with all questions, results and comments received are also provided for your review.
About Polco and this phase of Round Rock 2030 public input:
Polco is used by municipalities seeking to collect on-line input in real time. Over a two-month period, staff posted 3 sets of questions to Round Rock’s Polco page. Overall, 1,261 participants provided 10,184 responses and 1,311 comments.
The first post was a series of 21 stand-alone questions. The questions were developed based on the public input received at the quadrant meetings the City hosted in February and March. Using Polco, respondents were asked to read the context for each question to learn about the topic prior to responding. Respondents were able to leave comments along with their responses to each question to provide staff with even more input (see POLCO STANDALONE QUESTIONS REPORT).
Separate from the stand-alone questions, staff also posted 2 surveys on Polco - a historic preservation survey and a policy survey. The historic preservation survey was posted for the month of May (National Preservation Month). Input is being collected for the City’s preservation plan being developed for eventual inclusion in the comprehensive plan (see POLCO HISTORIC PRESERVATION SURVEY REPORT).
In mid-May, the City added a policy discussion survey to the City’s Polco page. The policies have evolved from the initial draft based on the public input received. To create the initial draft policies, City staff incorporated concepts from the existing comprehensive plan and current trends in planning practice. At the quadrant meetings, attendees were given a list of 10 policies to edit, comment on, and prioritize. Attendees were encouraged to propose new policies. After the quadrant meetings, planning staff reworked the draft policies to reflect the 745 public comments received. The resulting set of 12 policies was posted in the Polco survey which allowed participants to confirm whether they support the draft policies and/or suggest changes to the wording of the policies. In general, the policies received overwhelming support but also generated many comments (see POLCO POLICY DISCUSSSION SURVEY REPORT). With the Polco feedback, planning staff adjusted the policies once again to reflect the online input received. These land use policies will guide the comprehensive plan and are meant to be general statements. Round Rock 2030 will incorporate specific information and implementation strategies related to each policy statement.