Efforts to update Grand County’s general plan got underway this week with a presentation to the Grand County Council by Gabe Preston, a managing partner of RPI Consulting, the Durango, Colo.-based contractor for the project.

Preston told the council he has begun interviews with selected community leaders and is developing a communications strategy to keep the public informed as the project moves forward.

Preston said his organization and other partners “have a long history of technical planning” and relevant expertise that will be called upon to guide the effort in Grand County.

“The whole key is balancing the expertise [and information gathered] with the reality of what the community does and does not want,” Preston said, as he explained that he will solicit input from community residents throughout the project.

“I would love to talk to anybody [who calls],” Preston said, promising to return calls to all who leave messages with his office at 970-382-9886.

Preston’s use of the term “future land use plan” in his description of the process that will lead to the revised general plan prompted council member Chris Conrad to ask if a general plan is all about land, or whether the document creates a strategy for the future.

“The real focus is land use,” Preston said. Focused on community aspirations, the general plan will be an advisory document that guides land-use planning, he said.

A definition of what the general plan is meant to be, and other information about how the community can get involved in the process is currently posted on the Grand County website, grandcountyutah.net.

Preston assured council chairwoman Audrey Graham that communication with the public will reach far beyond the Internet. Ads will be posted in the newspaper, radio, and television, he said, and a public survey will be conducted.

The process of finding out what residents want or do not want will begin with a visioning workshop on July 7 at the Grand Center, 182 North 500 West, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. A “vision verification” meeting will follow on July 22.

A working group of area individuals selected based on their level of interest, commitment to the process, and willingness to stick with it, will be created, Preston said. The group will meet on July 29 and Aug. 26.

From those meetings and other work, Preston will develop a vision of goals and strategies for the future, which will be used to set the topics for discussion. The project will reach out to the community to rank the strategies in order of preference, he said.

Various community preferences will be displayed on maps so that people can “see” what kind of development patterns emerge, Preston said.

One member of the Grand County Planning and Zoning Commission, along with an alternate, will be invited to participate as part of the working group, Preston said, adding that council members are all invited to come to meetings, but none will given a formal role in developing the document.