City of Salinas wants to hear from those living in Alisal area about wants/needs in their community

Change is coming to Salinas and the city wants you to have a say in the new Alisal Vibrancy Plan.

The plan has been discussed for some time, but now officials hope to soon have it fleshed out.

It’ll still be several months before the plan is officially in place.

Right now those behind it are working hard to make sure those in the community are heard.

It’s a plan that hopes to improve a corner of Salinas already loved by many.

“East Salinas, isn’t broken, it doesn’t need to be fixed, it’s more like how can the city be investing more and involving community and planning and what the future looks like,” said Andrea Monzo, with Building Healthy Communities.

A future that those behind the Alisal Vibrancy Plan hope to create.

“It’s building on already the cultural assets that are already here and making it better than it already is,” Monzo said.

The plan is to improve close to 12 square miles within East Salinas and 3 million dollars have already gone into the planning process.

“The need for additional housing supply and affordable housing has risen to the top,” said City of Salinas Senior Planner, Lisa Brinton, “We also have such a large young population and so there’s a need for enhanced programing and service to educational support and job training to after school recreational activities.”

Though the city says it obviously can’t add land, it was looking to the community for the best ways to use the land that’s already there.

“It’s important to note that it’s not just resident participation, it’s also city participation business participation and so as that all gets mixed up together we really need residents to be the stronger point and the strongest voice in this plan,” said Leticia Hernandez with the steering committee.

And the more voices, the better chance the plan fits the community.

“We have people participating but we definitely need a lot more voices to be heard so it’s exciting to be part of it,” Hernandez said.

The city hopes to have the first official draft of the plan by this fall, which will then be released to the community for more feedback.

For more information on the plan click here.

PREVIOUS STORY: If you live, work, or play in east Salinas, the City of Salinas wants to hear from you about the kind of development you would like to see in the area.

The City says while they can’t increase the amount of land they have, how they use that land is up for discussion. That’s why they’re calling the Alisal Vibrancy Plan a community driven planning process.

Tuesday’s workshop is on land use and what people would like to see done. The Alisal Vibrancy Plan looks to improve close to 12 square miles within East Salinas. According to the city, the vibrancy plan is community driven and it’s important to have residents there at the workshop tonight.

“The residents are the experts. They are the ones are living in East Salinas and they are the ones that should determine the future of their community and what they would like to see for the vision of the future,” said City of Salinas Senior Planner, Lisa Brinton.

Due to the high poverty and unemployment rates, east Salinas was targeted for investment of community development grant funding.

WHAT: Alisal Vibrancy Plan Workshop

WHEN: 5:30-8:00PM Tuesday evening

WHERE: MLK academy located at 925 North Sanborn Road.

It will be conducted in both Spanish and English. Childcare and food will be provided.