Planning and Development Services is currently working on the City’s comprehensive plan, Round Rock 2030. PDS has released the results of our latest round of public input collected utilizing Polco, an online engagement tool. Over a two-month period, staff posted three sets of questions to Round Rock’s Polco page. Overall, 1,261 participants provided 10,184 responses and 1,311 comments.

The first post was a series of 21 stand-alone questions. The questions were developed based on the public input received at the quadrant meetings the City hosted in February and March. Using Polco, respondents were asked to read the context for each question to learn about the topic prior to responding. Respondents were able to leave comments along with their responses to each question to provide staff with even more input.

Separate from the stand-alone questions, staff also posted two surveys on Polco – a historic preservation survey and a policy survey. The historic preservation survey was posted in May, which is National Preservation Month. Input is being collected for the City’s preservation plan being developed for eventual inclusion in the comprehensive plan.

In mid-May, we added a policy discussion survey to the City’s Polco page. The policies have evolved from the initial draft based on the public input received. To create the initial draft policies, City staff incorporated concepts from the existing comprehensive plan and current trends in planning practice. At the quadrant meetings, attendees were given a list of 10 policies to edit, comment on, and prioritize. Attendees were encouraged to propose new policies.

After the quadrant meetings, planning staff reworked the draft policies to reflect the 745 public comments received. The resulting set of 12 policies was posted in the Polco survey which allowed participants to confirm whether they support the draft policies and/or suggest changes to the wording of the policies. In general, the policies received overwhelming support but also generated many comments. With the Polco feedback, planning staff adjusted the policies once again to reflect the online input received. These land use policies will guide the comprehensive plan and are meant to be general statements. Specific information and implementation strategies related to each policy statement will be incorporated into Round Rock 2030 as the plan is developed.

Polco results will be presented to the Planning and Zoning Commission on July 17 and to the City Council on Aug. 8.