Opus AUAR Study

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The Opus Alternate Urban Area Review (AUAR) is a planning study that performs environmental analysis and projects the cumulative impacts of anticipated development in the Opus area. The Opus AUAR was developed in 2020 and finalized in early 2021.

An AUAR helps guide future planning decisions and produces a plan to avoid, minimize or mitigate identified environmental impacts during development.

View the Opus AUAR (finalized early 2021)
View a map of the study area

Redevelopment interest is extremely high throughout the Opus area, and we expect that to continue. This study will provide a better understanding of the area as a whole, identify potential environmental impacts and will help make the development process more efficient.

Study overview

An AUAR helps local government assess the impact that different anticipated development scenarios will have on the environment. This assessment can help guide planning and zoning decisions, and does not require individual projects to conduct environmental reviews as long as they’re consistent with scenarios examined in the AUAR and implement required mitigation plans.

Environmental concerns and mitigation strategies in the Opus AUAR include traffic, surface water impacts, karst topography and open space preservation. View a draft of the Opus AUAR to learn more.

The Opus AUAR analyzes potential issues in these areas:

Land use
Grasslands, wetlands, woodlands, etc.
Fish, wildlife and ecologically sensitive resources
Water resources and use
Waste water and storm water impacts
Traffic
Soil conditions
Emissions
Dust, odor, noise
Historic preservation
Visual impacts
Compatibility with existing plans

Public feedback

The city sought public input on the Opus AUAR Study in November 2020. Residents were encouraged to review the study and email feedback by Nov. 25, 2020. View the submitted feedback and the city's responses.

The planning commission (Jan. 21, 2021) and city council (Feb. 8, 2021) reviewed the Opus AUAR Study at public meetings in early 2021 and encouraged residents to provide feedback.

Public feedback was extremely beneficial to the city as its finalized this important document.

Meeting history

Contact information