SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. (KGUN) — The City of Sierra Vista and the Neighborhood Commission are using community input to make local neighborhoods safer. They're starting with the Bella Vista neighborhood.
The city and the Neighborhood Commission are working with local residents to create a series of online interactive maps and supporting plan documents for local neighborhoods.
According to the City, "the maps and plans are meant to make it easier for people to find information about current conditions and future development in the city's neighborhoods, subdivisions, and commercial areas." The Bella Vista Neighborhood Sector is the first neighborhood being worked on.
Sierra Vista seeks resident input to improve safety in Bella Vista neighborhood
Wendee Grinde, chair of the Sierra Vista Neighborhood Commission, said the commission selected Bella Vista to bring changes to the city outside of the west end.
"This is not driven by the city and the city employees; it's really driven by the neighborhood and the feedback from the community," Grinde said.
According to the city, residents in the area have lived in their homes for an average of more than 20 years.
Grinde said safety is a top priority as the commission works through the feedback phase.
"Even to this gorgeous park that we're sitting in, which I see, there's a couple things here that could be improved just to make this park a little bit safer for the neighborhood. So I think safety is one of the the biggest concerns that we want to address," Grinde said.
Bella Vista resident Remy Schneider has lived in her home for 6 years and said she is already seeing possible improvements. She identified speeding as a key concern.
"Lots of people like to speed through the neighborhood," Schneider said.
Schneider said she has been listening to her neighbors and the city to find out what can be done to slow drivers down, and learned that not every solution is straightforward.
"Everybody wants to have speed bumps, and that's not always the case due to how different streets are coded. So that was an interesting thing to learn," Schneider said.
Schneider said community involvement is essential to the process.
"I think being involved in in at least the knowledge of what's going on makes for better citizens, and it's a two-way street for both the city and for the residents to have an open conversation," Schneider said.
Sierra Vista Community Development Director Matt McLachlan said resident expertise is central to the city's approach.
"To truly understand the current strengths and challenges of any given neighborhood, the best course of action is to ask the experts: the people who live and work there each day," McLachlan said.
Grinde acknowledged that the feedback phase means results will not come immediately.
"It could take some time before we get a lot of these projects done," Grinde said.
She said hearing directly from residents is the foundation of the neighborhood plan.
"The neighborhood plan is really to listen to the neighbors and find out what it is that they are looking to see in their neighborhood. What kind of changes are needed. They're the ones who are living here," Grinde said.
The city is collecting feedback on the supplemental plan, which can be reviewed and at Engage.SierraVistaAZ.gov.
Residents can also share comments in person at a public meeting on Friday, July 31, at 5:30 p.m. inside the Sierra Vista Public Library's large meeting room.
For more information or assistance, contact the Community Development Department at (520) 417-4413 or Planning@SierraVistaAZ.gov.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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Alexis Ramanjulu is a reporter in Cochise County for KGUN 9. She began her journalism career reporting for the Herald/Review in Sierra Vista, which she also calls home. Share your story ideas with Alexis by emailing alexis.ramanjulu@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook.
