A development roadmap that seeks to balance local priorities and business opportunities for the Sonoita-Elgin region will be presented at a public meeting at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 28, in the County Complex Building, 3147 Highway 83, Sonoita.
Colin Bishop, Santa Cruz County community development director, and a representative of Worthy Communications of Gilbert, the firm generating the plan, will be in attendance.
“The document outlines a range of options for consideration and is intended to serve as a starting point for ongoing community discussion, not a set of predetermined decisions,” Bishop said.
In brief, the plan focuses on supporting economic resilience through tourism and small business opportunities while also “protecting the area’s rural character, working lands and quality of life,” Bishop said.
He noted the meeting will follow a structured format designed to both inform and engage the community. A brief presentation of the plan’s key points will be followed by next steps and how feedback will be gathered and used to move forward. Attendees will have the opportunity to review key topics, ask questions and provide input.
“The goal is to create a clear starting point for conversation while allowing space for community members to engage with the material in a way that works best for them,” Bishop said.
The $60,000 paid to Worthy Communications to generate the plan came from the original $300,000 Cuisine Tourism grant awarded to the county by the U.S. Economic Development Administration in 2022. The intent of that grant was to create a regional cuisine tourism plan focused on connecting local restaurants and wineries.