From tragedy and loss to entertainment and development, the City of Moore has encountered its fair share of change in the last decade.
However, with each step in a new direction, the residents, business owners and surrounding community in Moore have continued to maintain resilience.
In an effort to further nurture the resilience found in the Moore community, the City of Moore is implementing a comprehensive plan, which focuses on communicating with members of the Moore community and then putting in place new measures to better the function and development of the city.
“A comprehensive plan is arguably one of the most important documents that a city has because it details the vision of the community and sets out goals and recommendations to reach the vision,” Director of Community Development Elizabeth Jones said. “It is crucial to have city residents as part of the planning process to tell us how they want their city to develop and what services it should provide. Whether the issue is traffic congestion, community appearance or anything else, the comprehensive plan will set the policy for how elected officials and city staff will solve the problems.”
The comprehensive plan has been titled Envision Moore - Plan 2040, and according to the plan’s website, “the community is invited to share thoughts on how the City of Moore can renew, reshape and rebuild Moore for 2040.”
The Plan
The purpose of the comprehensive plan is to investigate potential for improvement on the quality of life for Moore residents, which includes the following, according to the plan’s website:
• Reducing traffic congestion along the city’s most traveled roadways
• Providing transportation alternatives to the automobile
• Enhancing the I‐35 Corridor and other important commercial corridors
• Identify blighted areas that are prime for redevelopment
• Consider costs and benefits of future development patterns
• Incorporate resiliency efforts within future policies and development
Envision Moore is being paid for by funds from Community Development Block Grant - Disaster Recover. There is also an advisory committee for the project.
“We have a steering committee of approximately 20 individuals who are either Moore residents or have a business in Moore,” Jones said. “They are a working group tasked with representing the community as we develop a vision and goals for the city. While city staff and our consultants do the grunt work and present the steering committee with numbers, statistics and ideas, the steering committee is expected to let us know if we are going in the right direction and what will and won’t work in the community.”
Community Participation
So, how can the Moore community as a whole participate in the project?
The first parts of the plan call for discovery and analysis of public opinion. Although the first phase for surveying for the project has already passed, the project is currently in the second survey phase. Moore residents, business owners and community members are all invited to take part in the survey. To participate in the survey, visit envision.cityofmoore.com.
There are also other ways to become involved with the project.
“The other ways to get involved are by submitting emails on the Envision Moore website with specific ideas and/or attending public meetings. The next public meeting is August 16 at 6:30 p.m. at The Station, 700 S. Broadway,” Jones said.
Once all of the surveys have been collected and community feedback has been gathered, the City of Moore will work on planning, recommending and implementing new policies, practices and development for the city.
“Implementation of the plan is a long process and takes patience and perseverance,” Jones said. “The biggest obstacle to plan implementation is always money. But if something is identified as a priority in the plan, it gives our City Council and city staff direction to seek those funding sources whether it is a bond, general revenues or grant funding.”
Although the process is long, it has the potential to better the Moore community as a whole and to help those in Moore envision more for their community.
For more information on the project, visit the project’s website at envision.cityofmoore.com or contact Elizabeth Jones at (405) 793-5053.