Bethel Comprehensive Plan 2035
Project Date: 2010 to present
Project Manager: Heather Stewart
Client: City of Bethel
Location: Bethel, Alaska
Plan Update
City Council Adopts Plan
The Bethel City Council passed the ordinance that officially adopts the Bethel 2035 Comprehensive Plan at its September 27, 2011 meeting.
Planning and Zoning Commission Endorsement
The Bethel Planning and Zoning Commission reviewed the Public Hearing Draft Plan and recommended that City Council adopt the plan with a few changes. The Public Hearing Draft can be viewed below:
Project Description
Bethel is the growing hub of the Yukon-Kuskokwim delta, a region that is home to over 20,000 people. The city is located alongside the Kuskokwim River, the second largest river in Alaska, and a defining feature of the City. For cities, businesses, and individuals living in the 56 villages in the Yukon-Kuskokwim region, Bethel is the major source for government, education, transportation, and health services, as well as a major shopping center for food, equipment, clothing, and other products. Bethel is experiencing growth coming from area villages, and many regional conditions have changed since the city’s comprehensive plan was adopted in 1997.
To better reflect current conditions and needs, the City of Bethel has hired Agnew::Beck to update the 1997 Bethel Comprehensive Plan. The updated plan is intended to guide future development and growth in the City for the next 10-20 years and will mainly address issues and concerns related to land use and public facilities and services (e.g., water/sewer, schools, libraries, fire stations, parks). The plan will include current community goals and objectives, implementation recommendations, and will provide direction for the City’s nine departments: Administration, Finance, Fire, Police, Port, Planning, Parks and Recreation, Technology, and Public Works.
Two other important topics that may be addressed by the comprehensive plan are transportation and economic development. The transportation component of the Bethel Comprehensive Plan is intended to be primarily fulfilled by the March 2010 Orutsararmiut Native Council and City of Bethel Transportation Plan (9.75 MB). Economic development has been addressed through the May 2003 Comprehensive Economic Development Strategies (CEDS) plan, also adopted jointly by the Bethel City Council and Orutsararmiut Native Council and approved by the U.S. Economic Development Administration. For this reason, the Bethel Comprehensive Plan 2035 will focus on land use and public facilities and services, but can supplement both of these planning efforts if new issues have arisen since the plans were passed.
Events and Milestones
7/19/2011 - Planning and Zoning Commission Review
The Bethel Planning and Zoning Commission reviewed the Public Hearing Draft Plan and recommended that City Council adopt the plan with a few changes. The Public Hearing Draft can be viewed below:
6/1/2011 - Citizen Advisory Committee Meeting
The Bethel Comprehensive Plan Citizen Advisory Committee met to review the Draft Implementation Chapter. Read the notes here.
4/28/2011 - Public Workshop to review the draft plan
Share your thoughts and questions about the Draft Bethel Comprehensive Plan Update. Did we miss something you care about? Do you have ideas the City and community should consider? Do you have questions about city services or dreams for Bethel's future? The plan will provide direction to the City for the next 25 years, so please help make it a good plan!
Mark your calendar: 6-8 p.m., Thursday, April 28 at the UAF Kuskokwim Campus Cultural Convention area (Yupiit Piciryarait Cultural Center). Light refreshments will be provided.
3/24/2011 - Citizen Advisory Committee Meeting
The Bethel Comprehensive Plan Citizen Advisory Committee will meet to review draft plan policy for the Economic Develoment and Utilities Chapters. March 24, from 6-8pm in City Council Chambers. Read the notes here.
2/17/2011 - Citizen Advisory Committee Meeting
The Bethel Comprehensive Plan Citizen Advisory Committee will meet on Thursday, February 17 from 6-8pm in City Council Chambers to review draft plan policy for the Public Facilities and Services chapter. Read the notes here.
1/31/2011 - Citizen Advisory Committee Meeting
The Bethel Comprehensive Plan Citizen Advisory Committee met on Monday, January 31 from 6-8pm in City Council Chambers to review draft plan policy for the Land Use and Transportation chapters (includes Port). Read the notes here.
11/29/2010 - Public Workshop
A public workshop was held on Monday, November 29. The planning team listened to community insights about the opportunities and challenges facing Bethel for the next several years and beyond. Read the notes here.
Some background on the plan:
Public Participation
There are a number of ways for the public to be involved in the Bethel Comprehensive Plan 2035 planning process. These include:
- Citizen Advisory Committee: Citizen Advisory Committee (CAC) meetings will be held throughout the planning process, as needed. The CAC will act as an advisory body and is intended to provide fair representation from many different community perspectives, including residents, business owners, developers, and related interests. The CAC will also be closely involved in getting the word out about the plan, getting input from others about the plan, and presenting the plan to the community as it develops. Members of the public can attend CAC meetings.
- Public Workshops: We will have two public workshops, the first one this fall to scope issues with the community and brainstorm ideas for the plan, the second in spring 2011, to review the draft document.
- Stakeholder interviews: As needed, interviews will be conducted with specific stakeholders who have valuable input into the process. Organizations and other entities that could be good partners in plan implementation will be contacted and involved as appropriate in the planning process.
- Draft documents: Drafts of the plan will be broadly distributed for public review, and will be posted to this website as they become available.
- Formal plan review process: Once the draft plan is completed, it will go through a formal review and approvals process including public hearings with the Planning Commission and City Council. The planning team will be working closely with the City of Bethel, Planning Commission, and City Council to ensure that the plan is acceptable and able to be adopted and implemented.
- Webpage: We will keep this webpage updated with a schedule of events, meeting notes, and draft products.
- E-mail contact list: We will maintain an email contact list of all parties with an interest in the project, so we can easily distribute regular plan updates and links to draft products. Sign up using the form on this page or send us your email address and we will keep you posted.
Contacts
For more information about the plan, please contact Dan Shea at the City of Bethel or Heather Stewart at Agnew::Beck Consulting.
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