Council members have 30 days to hear more public input
Following a lengthy discussion during the City Council meeting on Monday, the Council voted to pass the City’s updated comprehensive plan, a year-long project known as Endeavor 2045.
The comprehensive plan update was identified as a need in the City’s organizational strategic plan, Bartlesville NEXT, which was adopted by the council in 2022.
The City began seeking public input for the comprehensive plan in January and has since hosted numerous open houses, surveys, social media content, and a stand-alone website in an effort to engage Bartlesville residents. It was recently reviewed and recommended for approval by the City Planning Commission.
What is Endeavor 2045?
The updated comprehensive plan provides an overview of community context, including Bartlesville’s history, people, community services, economy, housing, parks, quality of life, land, mobility and natural resources.
In addition to zoning guidance and design considerations for particular areas in the city, the plan identifies more than 129 action steps for the City and its partners.
Those action steps are based around four guiding principles: Future Bartlesville, Prosperous Bartlesville, Livable Bartlesville and Natural Bartlesville.
- Future Bartlesville: 43 actions identified to facilitate growth and development, provide safe and reliable access, and promote community pride.
- Prosperous Bartlesville: 29 actions identified to enable residents and businesses to thrive.
- Livable Bartlesville: 31 actions identified to sustain a vibrant community where residents enjoy a high quality of life.
- Natural Bartlesville: 26 actions identified to foster a sustainable and resilient community for future generations.
The comprehensive plan update is the blueprint for guiding and facilitating the future growth and development of the community over the next 20 years. It covers topics including land use, transportation, infrastructure, housing, parks, economic development, and more. The plan can be altered by a vote of the City Council at any point in the future.
Council passes plan
Several people representing the Washington County GOP addressed the council at the beginning of the meeting under “Citizens to be Heard” to ask the council to postpone the agenda item, stating they had issues with some of the terms referenced in the plan.
The council ultimately voted to approve the plan with instructions to council members that suggested changes based on citizen input must be submitted to City staff within 30 days. Those changes will be taken back to the City Planning Commission for review, and the council will then be asked to approve the updated content.
Contact information for City council representative is available at www.cityofbartlesville.org.
Comprehensive plans are required by state law (Title 11, Oklahoma Statutes, Section 43-103) to provide the basis for a city’s municipal regulations, including its zoning and subdivision regulations.