A local community council is asking for citizen input in a survey meant to serve as a blueprint for future development and improvements to the city, and the survey’s coordinator said students’ opinions matter.

The Macalester-Groveland Community Council is planning for 2023 by revising the Comprehensive Neighborhood Plan. President and At-Large Educational Representative Bob Shoemake said the committee’s goal is to reach 10 percent participation from people who live in the neighborhood, including students.

“I think students have a huge stake. The character of the neighborhood in some way relates to the character of their student experience,” Shoemake said.

The Neighborhood Plan is revised every 10 years and allows citizens to answer an 11-question online survey about the community and things they would like to see changed or addressed in the future, including issues like the housing zoning lines, land use, traffic and parking and capital spending.

So far, the council has heard from approximately 600 people through the survey and 800 members from community events.

Shoemake said the council’s overall mission is to make the neighborhood “a great place to live, work, learn and play.”

After the MGCC started collecting data in August, the survey went live in September, and the council plans to keep it live until the end of the year. In the first quarter of 2014, the team will analyze what has been recorded and present a first draft of the report at its annual meeting in April. After rounds of revisions, it will become part of the city plans and laws that will guide future developments.

Shoemake said the last 10-year plan was not considered successful, but he hopes the new survey will amend flaws from the last plan by engaging more people and stretching the council’s aspirations.

“It was a long, fairly detailed plan that ended up on a shelf and was rarely referred to. We are determined to have a different result this time,” Shoemake said.

Aside from demographic inquiries, the survey focuses on four aspects: the community citizens want to keep, improve, start or stop, also known as known as the “KISS questions.” The questions are: What do you love about the neighborhood that is essential to keep? What might the council need to improve on in the next 10 years? What should the council start or create in the community? What should they stop doing within the Macalester-Groveland area?

Shoemake is also the Director of Programs and Membership at the Center for Ethical Business Cultures in the Opus College of Business, and he said St. Thomas has a great community.

“I really value this place, not just as an employee, but I take advantage of the lectures and concerts. It’s one of the great things about this university,” Shoemake said.

Sophomore Anne Marie Keating said she wants the council to look into some changes in the different laws and ordinances governing students who live off campus.

“I know recently there was a law implemented that more houses can’t be turned into student housing. I disagree with that,” Keating said. “I think that the availability for more housing would be good to have for the students because it will increase revenue for community, and it will allow St. Thomas to omit more students because we can house more students.”

Shoemake said the colleges and universities that are part of the Macalester-Groveland are essential to the community despite some occasional “tension” between the two demographics.

“We value the contribution that the universities make—the lectures and concerts that are open to the public. The way that the community council values the university and the contribution to our quality of life as someone who lives here is really important,” Shoemake said.

Sophomore Nathan Ekhoff said he doesn’t think the area needs many improvements and loves the way the neighborhood is currently laid out.

“Being a college student and being around college students—most people like to be in an area like Dinkytown that’s just hip and happening and active all the time, but I like the fact that it’s more family oriented, and it’s a lot more friendlier in that way,” Ekhoff said.

Johnnay Leenay can be reached at leen1980@stthomas.edu.