Residents, stakeholders attend general plan open house
Atascadero Community Development Director Phil Dunsmore.
Plan is revised about every twenty years
– Several dozen Atascadero residents and stakeholders stopped by the Atascadero Rotunda Wednesday afternoon to participate in an open house and City General Plan workshop.
Atascadero Community Development Director Phil Dunsmore and Planning Consultant Dan Amsden encouraged public input on plans for the future of Atascadero.
Amsden is with MIG: Planning, Design, Communications, Management Science and Technology in Sacramento. Their questions to attendees were thought-provoking. What is the character of Atascadero today? What do people want to see the City of Atascadero look like in the future?
Jewelry designer Angela Cisneros listens to residents’ remarks/
The plan is revised about every twenty years, and Dunsmore says, “It’s about that time in Atascadero. The General Plan is ripe for an update.”
Unlike most cities in the United States, Atascadero began as a planned city, developed by E.G. Lewis. It manifested around 1913. Lewis valued agriculture, women’s rights, fresh air, and fine architecture. He wanted to create a utopian town where people could eat fruit from trees next to their homes.
In recent years, Atascadero was perceived as a bedroom community, but in the last few years, more people see A-Town as their home. They work, live, and socialize in Atascadero.
The city will be accepting input on the new general plan for the next year.
