The City of Winona is embarking on a major update to its Comprehensive Plan, which was last completed in 2007. Over the next year and a half, city staff and project consultants will be engaging with community members to hear what is important to you about the community today and looking 10-20 years into the future. The result will be a new Comprehensive Plan that provides guidance for decision-making related to future changes and growth in Winona. Equity, technology, and sustainability are key themes that will be incorporated into each aspect of the plan.

 The city wants to create, with the full community, a unified vision of Winona’s future. The plan is an opportunity to identify policies, programs, and projects that will benefit the city for years to come. The plan is also an opportunity to identify our values as members of the Winona community. When we establish what is most important to us, the city and its elected officials can make decisions with real knowledge of what Winona community members value.

 Once it is complete, the Comprehensive Plan will determine how the city and its elected officials approach policy, action and decision-making in the coming years. The plan will create specific, achievable goals that the city and community can work toward in a wide variety of topic areas, from land use to economic development to recreation and arts. You can find a list of topics here. 

 The Twin Cities-based firm HKGi is the primary consultant on the project. Engage Winona, a local nonprofit organization, is leading engagement and public input.

Engage Winona is leading public engagement on this project throughout 2021-2022. We want to hear what you’re most affected by, what’s working, what changes you would like to see, and what bold visions and ideas you have for Winona’s future goals, ideas and policies. We’re looking forward to hearing from folks with a wide variety of perspectives and approaches - our only agenda is to listen to you and accurately capture your input.

 Your feedback and ideas will determine what issues are most important, what projects the city works on first, what goals are set, and how the city can support residents and businesses. 

 We’re hosting a variety of activities to meet folks where they are and make sure we’re hearing from as many community members as possible. Engagement activities include listening sessions, pop-up engagement at community events, digital surveys and activities, and more! 

 To stay informed about the project, sign up for the project newsletter  and find updates on the city website and the City of Winona Comprehensive Plan Update Facebook page 

Phase 1 engagement took place from September-December 2021 and included a series of conversations, a survey, public events, and more! A report of feedback we received will be released in February 2022. Meanwhile, the voicemail box is always open for comments.

What’s your Winona Story?

Engage Winona is creating a collaborative voicemail project about how folks imagine their future in Winona. The prompt is this: What are your hopes as you imagine your future in Winona? Leave a 1-3 minute voicemail with your answer at 507-312-9486. Responses will be woven into a collaborative recording and shared with the public. 

Engagement to capture the values, visions, and ideas of the Winona community will be held throughout fall, winter, and spring 2022. In summer 2022, HKGi will create a draft of the plan. Once that draft is released, we will reach back out to the community to ask what needs to change or be added, and the process will wrap up in spring 2023.

To stay informed about the Comprehensive Plan Update project and City of Winona news, sign up for notifications.

 Follow the city website and the City of Winona Comprehensive Plan Update Facebook page.

 Sign up for news notifications from the City of Winona - this will send you email updates of all news and public meetings from the City of Winona