(Danville) — After two years of work, Danville Planners have released the final draft of their proposal to reimagine the city for the next twenty years.
PLAN Danville Director Renee Burton calls it the fruits of two-year long effort to canvass the community to identify needs and opportunities. They ended up hearing from more than 13,000 people.
“We wanted to make sure we talked to as many citizens as possible,” Burton said. “We had 75 public input events where we were gathering information, sharing what we heard, validating that we heard them correctly so that it could be included into our comprehensive plan.”
Burton says PLAN Danville focuses on three core values. Equity—Health—and resilience, then broken down into eight categories…called “big ideas.” “Those eight categories were decided by the citizens. We asked people what were their top priorities and they told us,” Burton said.
There are hundreds of recommendations in the 528-page report. One recurring theme was recognizing the importance of Danville’s unique neighborhoods. “We have one big city but we all know our own neighborhoods,” Burton said. “And who knows them better than those who have lived there for decades?”
Burton says the plan also focuses on the future of public recreation in Danville. Another area of emphasis at the neighborhood level was the development of Community Resource Hubs. “These give people a central location in their neighborhoods that can house many resources,” Burton said. “It could a resource for supplies or EMS or any number of other things.”
The Danville Planning Commission and City Council will vote on the final recommendations next month. You can view the 500-page report on the Danville Planning Website.
“The release of this draft is a milestone in our journey, and we encourage all residents to review it and offer feedback,” City Manager Ken Larking said. “Your input is critical in ensuring that this plan reflects our collective vision for Danville’s future.”
The comprehensive plan is considered a 20-year document that public officials should review every five years. Residents who have any questions or comments while reviewing the draft document are encouraged to share them by email at hello@plandanville.org.