Strategic Planning - Shaping the Future of Maize

The City of Maize is proud to share exciting progress in our ongoing strategic planning efforts. Over the past several months, we've engaged our community through a comprehensive survey and multiple focus groups to better understand the priorities, concerns and aspirations of our residents and stakeholders.

On April 18, 2025, City Council and City staff took a major step forward by holding a strategic planning work session. This session, guided by WSU Public Policy and Management Center (PPMC), began the creation of a three-year road map that will guide the City from 2026 through 2028. Using the feedback we received from the community, City leadership began drafting a refreshed Mission, Vision and Core Values that reflect our shared goals and renewed sense of purpose.

The planning process is not just about setting goals, it's about creating a vision that reflects the values of our community and lays a foundation for smart, sustainable progress. We look forward to sharing more updates as the plan takes shape and will continue seeking input to ensure we're on the right path together.

Maize Community Engagement Themes Summary

Over the course of five weeks, between February 3 and March 6, 2025, the PPMC conducted five focus groups with community stakeholders representing knowledgeable, civic-minded boards, businesses, and organizations in Maize. A preliminary focus group also was conducted with the Maize City Council and staff leadership on December 14, 2024. The purpose of these meetings was to understand current trends and future priorities for the City of Maize and the Maize community overall. These trends and priorities then could be evaluated for development of the City's new Strategic Plan.

Included in this report are themes that emerged from the discussions. These themes are intended to inform decision makers of the broad concepts and ideas that were repeated throughout discussions and should be considered as the City of Maize considers development of an organizational mission, vision, and values statement and identifies goals and strategies in its upcoming strategic planning process.

Schools

The Maize community extends beyond the geographic boundaries of the City of Maize. The community's schools provide a high-quality K-12 education system and are a key factor in the growth and development Maize is experiencing, especially construction of new housing and increases in traffic. The public schools are seen as a driver of many factors impacting Maize. Even though some of their schools are located in the city limits of Wichita, all the Maize schools function as a community draw and influence other themes shared in focus groups.

Public Services

Existing public services and amenities are appreciated and well-received. Stakeholders take pride in Maize as a clean and safe community, backed by a visible city police department and county-provided fire and EMS services. Amenities, events, and activity options also received widespread appreciation, including the park and walking paths, fall festival and holiday event, and activity options provided by the Maize Recreation Commission.

Strong feedback across multiple stakeholder groups indicated that Maize should focus on development of additional public amenities, as well as supporting or incentivizing growth in private businesses that would be seen as community amenities.

Traffic & Transportation

Growth within the school district puts pressure on Maize's arterial road system, particularly 45th Street, 119th Street, Tyler, and Maize Road. Traffic is especially intense at the beginning and end of the school day. In addition to staff and student drivers, changes in busing in recent years have intensified congestion due to increased parent drop-offs and pick-ups.

Traffic conditions along these corridors were discussed in several focus groups, with safety as a key concern.
A strong desire for supplemental infrastructure was expressed, including sidewalks, bike lanes, trails, and accessible crosswalks to safely accommodate students who walk or bike to school. Pedestrian infrastructure also supports accessibility and recreational needs of the greater community.
Public transportation or a bus system also were mentioned as potential considerations for the future.

Transportation also drives business, and there is a desire for the City to manage traffic conditions and visibility around business districts. This could include traffic calming measures along corridors to enhance visibility of businesses or efforts to draw additional traffic into non-corridor business areas such as the Academy Arts District.

Community & Identity

Many stakeholders celebrated Maize's small-town feel, pride, and sense of community. They want to see this amplified as the community grows. Community events, connections, and amenities help define the way people view and interact with Maize, and some concern was heard that this could be lost during rapid growth.

Stakeholders expressed a desire for Maize to develop a strong local identity alongside the existing recognition of its public school system.
There is a desire for Maize to overcome its lack of a traditional business district by establishing signature spaces and attractions that will support the current sense of community connectedness while also distinguishing Maize as a unique community beyond its current reach.
Gateways, signage, or other visual identifiers could be part of a strategy to establish a distinction between Maize and Wichita and to cultivate additional community identity and pride.
Community identity will continue to be developed in how people interact with both places and people within Maize. There is a high level of appreciation for existing events and activities in the community and a desire for leadership to continue to build on these traditions of success.

Public and Private Amenities

Stakeholders were complimentary of current place-based efforts in Maize, such as the Academy Arts District and local businesses, as well as existing public amenities and activities. Once again, the desire is for the City to build on success in its future development decisions regarding both public amenities and private business incentives.

Public amenity discussion focused on the needs of a young and active community. This includes park land, sidewalk and trail systems, a library, a swimming pool, and expanded recreation space to accommodate growing needs for youth-focused activities and programming, as well as the recreational and connectional needs of all Maize residents.
Stakeholders expressed a desire for Maize children and youth to remain engaged in constructive activities and have access to developmental opportunities.
The Cathey property was mentioned as a potential location for development of community park and recreational spaces such as a community garden, dog park, recreation center, trails and walking paths, and green space.
There is a recognition that Maize is in competition with Wichita and other cities for business development. Support was expressed for policy creation to keep Maize competitive so it can build its tax base in alignment with community desires.
Stakeholders said the West side is very family oriented and emphasized a desire for family-oriented signature or destination developments, restaurants, entertainment options, or other anchor businesses that could provide community and connection, as well as fueling intentional growth within a community vision.

Sustainable Growth & Development

Recent years have brought accelerated growth and development in Maize, and stakeholders expressed a desire to see City leadership approach development proposals with intentionality and with long-term outcomes in mind.

Maize's strong school system and sense of being a clean, safe community make it a desirable place for housing growth and development. The pace of housing growth prompts worry and a desire to look at intentionality in the types of developments approved.
The overall pace of growth is putting pressure on public services and systems, including schools, roads, infrastructure, and community amenities.
There is a desire for strong, future-focused land use policy that considers how to balance growth and optimize uses for the benefit of the community and revenue generation.
Community members are aware that public infrastructure and services are impacted by the rapid pace of growth. They expressed a desire to balance the need for continued investment in core services and the challenges of a growing property tax burden.
Those familiar with the 2019 Comprehensive Plan encouraged the City to review and update its plan to help effectively guide the City's ongoing decisions about growth and investment. There is a sense of urgency that decisions made today, particularly regarding development and land use, will affect the community's long-term trajectory.
The accelerated pace of housing growth, and prominence of duplex and multi-family units within these new builds, concerns many community members. Some of their stated concerns include the following:
- Multi-family and rental housing are seen as less well-maintained throughout the life of the housing unit.
- Stakeholders desire to also see senior housing and other affordable long-term options that allow community members to age in place while securing housing options that fit their needs and stage of life.
- Density in housing development puts pressure on school, recreation, and other systems.
- A focus on housing development does not build the local property tax base in the same way that commercial land uses might.
Stakeholders expressed a desire for incentives to be targeted toward businesses that will cultivate and enhance a sense of Maize as a distinct community with strong social connections and a high quality of life. In addition to continuing to bring commercial businesses and employers to Maize, stakeholders frequently mentioned a desire for a local grocery store or supermarket, a clean and quality service station, and family-friendly sit-down restaurants such as a local brewery or restaurant/entertainment concept.

Planning and Zoning

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