City of Sierra Vista on wrong side of history, after voters veto general plan

SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. (KGUN) — The new year comes with new challenges for the City of Sierra Vista.

Officials have to come up with a new general plan after the proposed version was vetoed by voters.

This is the first time voters decided not to approve the plan since it became a state requirement over two decades ago.

“We're left scratching your heads at the moment,” said City of Sierra Vista Community Development Director Matt McLachlan.

He says all signs indicated it would pass, during last year's presidential election. Now, instead of putting the plan into action, they're preparing to come up with a new plan.

“There was no community opposition or significant points of controversy, leading up to the vote. And so, we're a little surprised that it didn't receive majority approval to pass," McLachlan said. ”We need to really drill down on those concerns to educate ourselves and how to best respond.”

The general plan is designed to promote growth and improve the quality of life in the city. McLachlan says they used community feedback and ideas, in conjunction with city input to create the plan.

"We're (a) relatively low change community right now, so general plans are a defense against bad development proposals, and right now there's a little bit of a lull in the market,” McLachlan said.

One of the focuses continues to be on the west end of Sierra Vista. McLachlan says that making the area more a "downtown" and walkable area, is a response to the community wanting an area of the city that feels like a downtown.

“Redevelopment is a long-term endeavor," McLachlan said. "We're at the beginning stages of our implementation efforts. We've seen a reduction in storefront vacancies on the west end, through the incentives that we've offered. We hope that momentum continues.”

The city received public input for the Vista 2040 plan. McLachlan says they worked with commissions and held public meetings, to have as much community input as possible.

Now, they’re seeking answers from the public to learn why the majority voted no.

“We'll be looking to connect with the residents in new and different ways to make sure that their input is fully accounted for in the next update,” McLachlan said.

He says they will send surveys later this month to ask for those who voted no, to share their concerns with the plan. They will have until 2026 to come up with a new plan for voters to vote on.

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