Y Community to develop comprehensive plan

SUNSHINE -- In the spring of 2003, 130 people from the Y Community Council gathered for two days at Susitna Valley High School and discussed the future of their community. The meeting was prompted by residents from Sunshine, Montana Creek, Caswell, Sheep Creek and other parts of the Y, who realized that change was coming, and felt it was time to take an active role in guiding that change.

At last year's gathering, the residents discussed community values and goals. A second set of workshops will be held April 15 and 17, and will focus on starting to develop the Y Community Comprehensive Plan. Community members who participated in the gathering last year, and any new residents or others who want to voice their opinion, are encouraged to attend.

A comprehensive plan is a formal set of goals that the community has agreed to use when considering future development. Comprehensive plans typically address land use, recreation, transportation, economic development and public services. While these plans usually include recommendations for action, they do not include zoning ordinances, applications for incorporation, or a method of taxation.

The process of comprehensive planning is to identify where the community currently is, this was accomplished at last year's gathering; where they want to be in the future, this is the step being discussed during upcoming work sessions; what they need to know, as in data collection, and how they hope to get there, or an action plan. The final step is to present the plan for borough approval and adoption.

Tom Kluberton, a Y Community Council board member, feels the community has a unique opportunity.

"We are just a bunch of folks who live here, being given the chance to form the way our community will look in the future," he said. "We began this process at the gathering last spring, and these next steps will be to shape those findings, and factor in input from new people as well."

The first round of workshops will be held at Susitna Valley High School, Mile 98.5 Parks Highway, on Thursday from 6-9 p.m. A community potluck will start off the event, and ideas will be introduced. On Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., there will be a roll-up-your-sleeves work session. Child care can be arranged by calling 733-2626, and residents should plan to attend both meetings if possible.

Questions about the sessions can be directed to Herman Thompson at 733-2626, or Tom Kluberton at 733-1457. Learn more about the planning workshops or download a copy of the Y Community Issues and Goals Report from www.matsugov.us/planning/ycc-compplan. Copies of the report are also available at The Store, Camp Caswell, Mooreâs Mercantile, Talkeetna Library and the Upper Susitna Senior Center.