In February 2009, Vision North Port selected WilsonMiller to prepare a Citizen’s Master Plan for the North Port community. After multiple public involvement meetings and vigorous interaction on the project’s website Imaginenorthportfl.com, involving several thousand residents and interviews with community leaders and decision-makers, Imagine North Port – A Citizen’s Master Plan will be released to the public on January 28th at Old World Restaurant in North Port during Vision North Port’s annual meeting from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
All attendees will receive a free copy of the Citizen Master Plan. The plan will also be available on line at imaginenorthportfl.com after its release, as well as locations throughout the city including City Hall and the Chamber of Commerce.
The goal of the plan is to present the citizens vision for the future of the city. This vision is presented in an 88 page full color book that will promote the growth and preservation of North Port as an environmentally attractive and economically viable community whose citizens enjoy a high quality of life.
The process of creating this community-wide master plan allowed community stakeholders the opportunity to examine the past, present, and future visions for North Port as the City’s 50th anniversary was recently celebrated. As the planning consultant for Vision North Port, WilsonMiller, working closely with Vision North Port, conducted a series of visioning workshops, surveys, and interviews to maximize community awareness, encourage citizen participation, gather input from stakeholders, identify community issues, challenges, and visions, and develop consensus culminating in the creation of this Citizens’ Master Plan. These goals were achieved and the plan is a clear articulation of the aspirations of the community for the future.
The creation of the plan was funded by a grant provided by the Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice. The printing of the plan was sponsored by local organizations, including State Farm Insurance, the City of North Port, Sarasota County Government, Arnold Development Companies, and ROI Media.
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ABOUT VISION NORTH PORT:
A 501(c)(3) corporation, Vision North Port was formed by alumni of the North Port Leadership Institute in November 2007. The organization’s mission is… “Vision North Port: Inspiring individuals to create a stronger sense of community!”