Building capacity to steward a livable future
Community planning welcomes everyone to participate in the land use decisions, projects, and programs that shape where they live. The "planning process helps communities define their goals and a path to achieving them.”
Inclusive community engagement strategies– that meet the needs of community members– are necessary for equitable involvement and key to community planning. Conventional planning can fall short of achieving equity when the group of planners is limited to a small circle, focused on building. Community members and partner organizations can balance development decisions with lived experience, subject matter expertise and attention to shared values.
Engaging people and organizations across sectors, the Land Trust identified the following five focus areas for the new Community Planning program. Each focus area influences conservation in the valley and is risked by unchecked growth. Objectives across the five focus areas support compact community design for conservation of the beautiful lands and important natural resources in Blaine County.
For a more in-depth exploration of each focus area-- current conditions, shared goals and the Land Trust's objectives-- see the guiding document, Community Planning: Building Capacity to Steward a Livable Future.
While three of the focus areas– habitat conservation, water availability, and livability– intuitively relate to the value of conservation and mission of the Land Trust, the connection between transportation mobility and community housing to conservation is more nuanced. The connection is grounded in the principles of compact community design, relying on transportation and housing objectives to counteract the forces that drive sprawling development. If the valley is planned for increased land use efficiency in smart places, the Land Trust is better positioned to conserve the community's surrounding natural beauty. Other benefits of compact community design support sustainability through the efficient use of natural resources, reduced emissions, and social connectedness. Our new Community Planning program exists to explain the merits of the five focus areas to the cherished quality of life in Blaine County, as well as to prepare us for a livable future.
In broad strokes, the community cherishes Blaine County’s natural environment and access to open space. They recognize the ongoing need to protect wildlife and natural resources, restore the Big Wood River and its floodplain, and prepare for natural hazards linked to climate change. More than ever before, the community recognizes the risk of losing surrounding open space to new, sprawling development. The community planning program at the Land Trusts engages the public, evaluates trends, educates the community, encourages policies, and coordinates special projects that manage growth for habitat conservation.
With a changing climate, the community worries whether there will be sufficient water for a growing community, the regional agriculture and the Big Wood River’s ecosystem. Consistently, the community sees additional opportunities to reduce demand for water, increase efficiency and manage usage conjunctively, across the region. The community planning program at the Land Trusts engages the public, evaluates trends, educates the community, encourages policies, and coordinates special projects that manage growth for water availability.
Closely tied to the housing crisis, the community is boggled by the patterns of traffic congestion and the increasing length of work commutes into the Wood River Valley. With a legacy of supporting local transit services and active transportation facilities, the community voices support for sustainable transportation modes. Yet, data suggests that residents’ travel behaviors do not align with their stated values– Blaine County is largely car-dependent. The community planning program at the Land Trusts engages the public, evaluates trends, educates the community, encourages policies, and coordinates special projects that manage growth for transportation mobility.
Amenity migration to Blaine County, during the COVID-19 pandemic, exacerbated the County’s longstanding housing challenges and created a crisis. Housing costs remain unprecedentedly high, driving profits and incentivizing residential development. That said, new market-rate housing doesn’t equate to housing for our local workforce and long-time community members– much of the housing stock is unaffordable to them. The community is calling for creative policy solutions that are necessary for the people who keep the wheels of our community spinning. The community planning program at the Land Trusts engages the public, evaluates trends, educates the community, encourages policies, and coordinates special projects that manage growth for community housing.
Amenity migration to Blaine County, during the COVID-19 pandemic, exacerbated the County’s longstanding housing challenges and created a crisis. Housing costs remain unprecedentedly high, driving profits and incentivizing residential development. That said, new market-rate housing doesn’t equate to housing for our local workforce and long-time community members– much of the housing stock is unaffordable to them. The community is calling for creative policy solutions that are necessary for the people who keep the wheels of our community spinning. The community planning program at the Land Trusts engages the public, evaluates trends, educates the community, encourages policies, and coordinates special projects that manage growth for community housing.
Learn more the Community Planning program.
