After months of discussion, the Comprehensive Plan for Columbus seems to be almost ready for implementation. A public hearing will be held on the plan Tuesday at 9 a.m. at the courtroom in City Hall. This is the final step before the plan goes before the council for final approval.
City Planner Christina Berry, whose office planned the project, said the city planning commission has approved the plan. According to Berry, the comprehensive plan is a policy document to help with decisions on zoning ordinances and development.
“The plan is broken into several sections,” she said.
One of the sections addresses land-use elements, something Berry said she hopes will be used for neighborhood developments through a potential development authority.
“The Comprehensive Plan is a combination of vision, maps, development policies and design guidelines,” Berry said. “It will provide a framework for guiding public and private decisions that will affect the growth, development and redevelopment of Columbus.
“The plan will be based on the community’s vision for its own future–a long-term vision that may not be achievable in the near future. Nevertheless, the plan will look ahead, focus on the physical form of the city, and strive to shape development of public and private properties within Columbus’s planning area.”
The plan provides courses of action for growing Columbus in a sustainable manner, utilizing the city’s green infrastructure such as the Tenn-Tom Waterway as well as establish a future land-use plan.
The Comprehensive Plan can be viewed online at http://www.thecityofcolumbusms.org.
Jeff Clark was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
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