PRESCOTT – Williamson Valley residents will get their first look at the Williamson Valley Corridor Plan on Thursday evening.
Corridor Plan Steering Committee Chairman Walter Burcham said it will present the draft plan to the community at 7 p.m. Thursday at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. He said the committee mailed 4,125 postcards to the residents of the area to inform them of the
meeting.
The members of the steering committee and each of the plan element sub-committees have worked hard to complete a comprehensive plan in less than a year, he
said.
Burcham said the members of the steering committee met each other for the first time in January. Now, only 10 months later, the steering committee is preparing to submit the draft plan to the Yavapai County Planning and Zoning Commission in December.
Burcham said the commission would return the draft plan to the steering committee with suggestions geared toward acceptance by the Board of Supervisors.
The Williamson Valley Corridor Plan contains five elements. The elements include community character, land use, transportation, water resources and open space/recreation.
The group based the plan on the responses the steering committee received to a community survey.
The draft plan includes a review of existing conditions, as well as goals and strategies for each of the five elements.
Burcham said, “if there is anything in the plan that will sink it, it is the transportation element. No one is opposed to improvements to Williamson Valley Road. What everyone is talking about is the size and scope of the improvements.”
Burcham said the water element is the most detailed and comprehensive part of the plan.
He said the water sub-
committee did a lot of research and a lot of calculations. The water element contains a lot of tables and takes into consideration projected growth.
The open space/recreation element reflects the communities concerns about the preservation of views and ridgelines, dark skies and public trails and trailheads, Burcham
noted.
Burcham said the steering committee members worked tirelessly and diligently on the plan, putting in long hours.
“Each of the subcommittees had five members. They also worked diligently. Everyone worked together. These are very knowledgeable people,” Burcham said.
Burcham said the steering committee members reflect the makeup of the community. He said some of the members are from families that have lived in Williamson Valley for generations, while others have only lived there a
few years.
“The steering committee represented the entire spectrum of residents, and it was the same with the sub-
committee members,” Burcham said.
Burcham said the steering committee began its work by studying the Cornville Plan. The Cornville Plan
was developed based on a survey return of 8 percent. The Williamson Valley Corridor Survey had a return rate of more than 30 percent.
“Anyone that questions that rate and says it does not represent the majority of residents does not understand the system,” Burcham said.
