Would you like to voice your perspective on the direction the city of Port Arthur is headed? Here’s your chance.

The city of Port Arthur is currently updating its Comprehensive Plan led by urban planning consultants Freese and Nichols, Inc. The existing Comprehensive Plan has not been updated in over 25 years, according to the imagineportarthur.com website.

Imagine Port Arthur is a program that will incorporate the needs and desires of the community, business owners, and city leadership by illustrating what the community imagines for the future.

The Comprehensive Plan will be specific to Port Arthur’s unique context, incorporating realistic recommendations and strategies that will help shape our future growth and redevelopment. It will serve as the long-term vision for the city of Port Arthur and will be used every day by the city council and decision-makers to inform decisions on growth, development and revitalization.

There are four community forums planned in the city. At each meeting, there will be background information presented bout Port Arthur.

Residents are encouraged to participate in all discussions related to the future of Port Arthur, as well as challenges the city currently faces and/or anticipate in the future what measures to take to get ahead of those challenges.

The meetings are scheduled as follows:

 

March 8	Council District #4 Community Meeting 6 – 8 p.m. at the Robert A. Bowers Civic Center, 3401 Cultural Center Drive in Port Arthur.
March 9	Council District #3 Community Meeting 6 – 8 p.m. at the Robert A. Bowers Civic Center, 3401 Cultural Center Drive in Port Arthur.
March 22	Council District #2 Community Meeting 6 – 8 p.m. at the Port Arthur City Hall, Council Chambers 444 Fourth St. in Port Arthur.
March 23	Council District #1 Community Meeting 6 – 8 p.m. at the Port Arthur City Hall, Council Chambers 444 Fourth St. in Port Arthur.

According to the program’s website, the comprehensive planning process began in March 2016 and will span approximately 12 months. There will be a number of meetings with the Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee (CPAC), public meetings, and stakeholder meetings to gather first-hand input that will ultimately be used to identify the community vision and influence plan recommendations.