Efforts to develop a new comprehensive plan for Starkville begin this week as the city is hosting two public meetings.
Starkville’s Comprehensive Plan Advisory Panel met today at 11 a.m., and a public hearing with planners will be held 5:30 p.m. tomorrow at City Hall.
In June, aldermen approved a contract for services with the Walker Collaborative LLC, and the Tennessee-based firm, along with multiple contractors across the Southeast, will develop a long-range plan for the community.
Planners will visit Starkville and analyze core aspects of the city — infrastructure, economy and housing, for example — and develop a strategy for growth into the next decade.
The city also tasked planners to develop new subdivision and zoning ordinances that will be “unified and simplified” according to the company’s proposal.
Community Development Director Buddy Sanders said Tuesday’s meeting will allow residents to meet planners for the first time and offer any comments as they begin their work.
Consultants are scheduled to return Aug. 11-12 to meet with community groups and receive input on growth issues. Planning charrettes and concept meetings are tentatively scheduled for mid-October, and a report could be delivered to aldermen on Oct. 20.
The city’s comprehensive planning advisory group is comprised of: Michelle Amos (chamber of commerce), Michael Brooks (planning and zoning), Mark Castleberry (developer), Jeremiah Dumas (Mississippi State University transportation), Michael Fazio (historic preservation), Toriano Holloway (Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District), Hal Parker (developer), Jeffrey Rupp (MSU outreach) and Chris Taylor (Oktibbeha County NAACP).
City representation includes CAO Taylor Adams, City Planner Daniel Havelin, City Engineer Edward Kemp, Starkville Electric Department General Manager Terry Kemp, Vice Mayor Roy A. Perkins, Sanders, Ward 4 Alderman Jason Walker, Mayor Parker Wiseman and Ward 2 Alderman Lisa Wynn.
Sanders said the city was still working to confirm Castleberry’s participation on the board.
As planners move forward with their work, the group could identify new types of districts; remove or combine obsolete classifications; and denote specific use standards and design provisions necessary to implement the comprehensive plan.
Two problems Sanders expects the process to address: Starkville has more than 20 zoning designations — almost one for every 1,000 residents — and a subdivision ordinance rooted in the 1970s.
Code formatting, Sanders previously said, is expected to become more user-friendly with the addition of visual elements — charts, graphs and other visual cues — and the removal of redundant text.
Eliminating duplicity, modernizing rules and making codes easier to follow should provide the biggest and most immediate impact for developers, Sanders said last month.
“Development trends are just like fashion — there’s a natural course of change that takes place over time. Most of our development codes have an origin that dates back over a generation and have been minimally changed since then,” Wiseman said last month. “There have been multiple changes in development trends since then. Every time there’s a new trend, however, doesn’t mean you rewrite everything. Instead, it may mean something in your regulations does not fit the practice that’s occurring in the market.”
Carl Smith covers Starkville and Oktibbeha County for The Dispatch. Follow him on Twitter @StarkDispatch
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