TOLEDO, Ohio — For the third time, the city of Toledo is working on its Forward Toledo project plan, which acts as a guide for development and growth in the city over the next 10-20 years.
Lucas County Plan Commission senior planner Ryne Sundvold says that more than 40 meetings have been held with the public so far. The goal is to promote efficiency as the city works towards a more sustainable future.
"Now is the more important time to get those eager and excited about the plan and to actually implement the plan ... to get involved in their neighborhood groups and work organizations and their daily life," Sundvold said.
He said the plan's first year may not appear to have a lot of changes, but long term will help continue the growth and sustainability of the city.
"The main thing people will see is how sites and new developments look in our community," Sundvold said. "With these 33 goals, they are a driver of how we will review sites and when new developments come into our community."
Josh Lewandowski, also a senior planner, says the commission has received over 3,000 comments from the community, which has helped to create a realistic plan. He said that one of the biggest concerns that the community had was increasing the walkability of the city.
"But for us, all of these goals are going to be achievable because we're going to implement it into our day-to-day decision making," Lewandowski said. "We want to be able to pile up those small successes throughout the year to say this is how far we got."
Planners say some of the changes they are working towards include bettering the environment, developing vacant buildings, creating more open space and increasing the walkability of the city.
"It's quality of life. These goals impact the overall quality of life in our community and how our built environment will look in the next decade," Sundvold said.
You can find more information about the plan here or at any branches of the Toledo-Lucas County Public Library.