Plan offers a 20-year 'vision' for Cape Girardeau

After three years, multiple meetings, input from hundreds of people and several draft reports, Cape Girardeau is on the verge of adopting a new 20-year comprehensive planning document.

The public will have an opportunity to review and comment on a draft version of the document, known as “Cape Vision 2040,” Wednesday night at a hearing before the Cape Girardeau Planning & Zoning Commission.

The hearing is set for 7 p.m. at City Hall, 401 Independence St., after which the P&Z commissioners will consider a resolution to formally accept the plan, which was authorized by the City Council in June 2017.

“We think this is something that’s truly going to serve us over the next two decades,” said Cape Girardeau city planner Ryan Shrimplin, who said a wide range of stakeholders — including individuals, groups, businesses and city departments — had input in the project.

The 160-page, nine-chapter plan focuses on several aspects of community development and quality-of-life issues such as economic prosperity, social and cultural vibrancy, housing, infrastructure, transportation and land use. The plan includes scores of recommendations and timelines for achieving goals in each focus area between now and 2040.

“Residents need access to quality options for housing, health care, education, jobs, goods and services, recreation and entertainment,” according to the report’s overview section. “The Cape Vision 2040 plan addresses each of these elements with a focus on issues that are important to those having a stake in the community.”

Much of the report, Shrimplin said, emphasizes “retrofitting and redeveloping” programs and properties within Cape Girardeau “rather than expanding the physical boundaries of the city.”

“Cape Vision 2040 furthers the momentum of past planning efforts to make Cape Girardeau more livable, resilient and vibrant,” according to a passage of the planning document. Those previous efforts include the Vision 2020 project and the comprehensive plan adopted by the city in 2008.

“Most comprehensive plans have about a 20-year horizon, but they need to be updated at some point, so a comprehensive plan should be updated about every 10 years,” Shrimplin said.

The City Council engaged the consulting services of Teska Associates Inc. of Evanston, Illinois, and Orion Planning + Design of Boulder, Colorado, to help draft the plan at a cost not to exceed $80,000.

The plan was originally scheduled for completion two years ago but went through more revisions than anticipated, which pushed the timeline back significantly. A cyberattack on the city’s computer system earlier this year and the COVID-19 pandemic also delayed the plan’s completion.

“This was a very lengthy process, and we wanted to be sure we got it right,” Shrimplin said.

Cape Vision 2040 is expected to be discussed extensively at the City Council’s annual retreat later this month and Shrimplin said it is possible some minor revisions could be made to the document in the coming weeks during a final review process.

“I would expect by August the plan ought to be final,” he said.

The draft plan and related documents may be viewed online by clicking the “documents” tab at www.capevision2040.com.

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