Overland Park, KS 
Community Vision and Strategic Plan

As a leading community in the Kansas City region, Overland Park is known for a commitment to planning. The dynamic community has many assets—nationally ranked schools, thriving businesses, a strong transportation system, diverse neighborhoods, and more. But OP has never been one to rest on its laurels. The city, together with Visit OP and the Overland Park Chamber of Commerce, understood they’d need to update their plans. Their goal: to include a new, inclusive and broad-based community vision and strategic plan to set the city on a solid path in the decades to come.

Community Connectors

The Forward OP process was launched to outline a path of continued success for the next 20-25 years—considering all aspects of community life. A 27-member volunteer steering committee, representative of diverse interests, was created, and over 100 “community connectors” were identified to help spread the word about the process.

Planning for an Even Better Future

The process consisted of several meetings and workshops, including the Imagine Tomorrow Workshop and the Reveal the Vision Open House. These events were held at different times and locations around the City, as well as online, and amassed over 1,300 individual attendees. 5,000 pieces of input were collected that helped one vision, five goals, and eight initiative areas that reflected the wants and needs of the community. Some of these initiative areas included more community gathering spaces, housing affordability, and educational opportunities.

Community Endorsement and Implementation

After the plan’s completion, members of the Steering Committee actively sought and received endorsement from 62 institutions within the community and City Council officially endorsed the plan. Since the endorsement, the City has begun work to complete the actions, including the preparation of a Small Scale Development Simulation study to address the ForwardOP actions related to housing and alternative housing. Implementation is a challenge for community-based plans with no single owner, so an implementation manager was hired to assist with the details and ensure actions are taken to achieve the desired effect of the plan.

Planning NEXT has since been hired to build upon this vision and strategic plan to produce a new comprehensive plan for Overland Park.

Related News

Learn More

Tags

Project Type: community visioning and strategic plan
Community Type: city
Client: Overland Park, KS
Services: public engagement, social media and online engagement, visioning