South Portland Planning Department seeks community engagement

Boothby Avenue in South Portland Maxen Ryder

The South Portland Planning Department is inviting community members to get involved in the city’s Comprehensive Plan update. The plans will create a framework that guides the city’s policy and programs over the next decade.

In Maine, communities that have comprehensive plans are required to update them every decade. South Portland is in the process of this update right now, which takes about a year or two to complete.

“It is a pivotal moment, it is a golden opportunity for community members to have their voice enshrined into the document that will serve to guide policy moving forward for the next 10 years,” said Eli Rubin, community planner. “In South Portland the last plan was from 2012, and I often tell people the world has changed a lot from 2012, so there’s a lot to discuss to dive into in this comprehensive plan.”

“The other really relevant thing is that this is a people-based plan. It’s based on the input we get from residents and so we’re trying to reach residents: people who live, work, and play in South Portland over the next few months.”

The planning department is tabling at over 50 events in July and early August this year to engage the community. The department has started the Ambassador Program that lets community members lead conversations on their own terms, with a 10-page facilitation packet. The program helps people “to lead these kind of conversations: to have these candid conversations with people they trust in a comfortable setting so their voices can be heard,” said Rubin.

Rubin explained that this program helps get more views involved, as not everyone can attend a public meeting or speak in front of a group of strangers. “We are especially trying to hear from voices who are not often included in public policy or planning,” said Rubin. “This is a tool that we’re excited about to try and democratize the plan and get people to really give their input.”

The planning department also has an interactive map online that allows people to draw on the map and mark areas that are good for growth and areas that should be preserved. The map provides an opportunity to give input on specific areas of the city.

Both locations of the South Portland Public Library are now including an installation that allows community members to engage with the Comprehensive Plan update. These installations include access to computers to use the interactive map and ways to give ideas on paper.

The Comprehensive Plan update is a major process that takes place over a long period of time. “This is a multi-year process and there are several phases, and we are in our first public engagement phase for visioning and goal setting,” Rubin said. “This phase is for July and early August.”

The planning department will take all of the information gathered this summer and process it before drafting the updated plan. In the fall, the department will share this progress with the city and begin a new wave of community engagement to revise the plan further.

Ideas about about the Comprehensive Plan can also be submitted directly to the planning department over email at compplan@southportland.org or through the online contact form. Residents can also attend a Comprehensive Plan Committee meeting on the first Wednesday of the month. More information on meetings is available on the city calendar.

More information on the comprehensive plan, the Ambassador Program, the interactive map, the engagement methods, the timeline, and more is available at https://southportland2040.com.