Arlington will hire Moore Iacofano Goltsman as consultants in its update to the city’s comprehensive plan, the council decided Tuesday night. City council members voted unanimously to approve hiring MIG, a company from Berkeley, California, for $640,000. Andrew Piel, council member for District 4, was absent for the meeting and the vote.
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It has a heavy focus on inclusion, walkability and pedestrian street use, safety and integrating existing ecology into plans for a city’s future. The original timeline for the comprehensive plan saw the city council hiring a consultant in October , but the council decided to table the item until Tuesday night’s meeting. John Chapman, the long-range planning manager for the city, previously told KERA News that hiring MIG opens the door to other necessary steps.
The most important, he said, is public input. “We just want to focus on ensuring that this plan is going to create a future for Arlington that represents everyone,” Chapman told KERA News. “The overarching goal is going to be transforming the awareness of this plan into concrete action.
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It’s very important to hear not just the positives but the negatives.” And with something like a comprehensive plan, Chapman said it’s especially important to have input from people all across the community, not just those who typically attend.