The next step in the "Grow Morris" Development Plan is coming up November 7th, with council holding a public hearing to receive feedback on the proposed plan. Earlier in Summer residents were given the opportunity to comment on it.
"We're required to redo this approximately every ten years, and we know as a community we didn't quite have alignment between land use, some of the strategic ideas in the community, and where we wanted to go long term," explained Crick. "We've attempted to pull that all together in this development plan, which again has been titled 'Grow Morris'."
The public hearing will start at 7 p.m., and Crick stressed it's another opportunity for residents to suggest changes and additional feedback for the plan.
"In many ways, some of the past plans were more descriptive of how we're going to use land in the community, and less about being tied into the strategic growth of the community," he said. "What we've really strived to do with 'Grow Morris' is look at the interrelationships between all the key parties in the community, including things such as business, government, government departments, housing... how do all those things tie together?"
Some other items considered include greenspace creation, walkability and accessibility and changing some of the permitted uses for buildings on Main Street. Crick added it's all about finding ways to help the community grow holistically.
"We're really trying to take the big, wide lens picture of where Morris can grow to," he said. "This isn't just about the next year, or the next five years. This is about providing a road map for both ours and future councils as to the types of things we can do to truly grow the community."
Crick made the comments for today's In the Mayor's Chair, which you can listen to below.