“Failing to plan is planning to fail.”
There’s no Golden Gate bridge without planning. There’s no Nike without planning. There are no good apple pies without good planning. Whether it’s in our personal lives, our careers, or our communities, the pursuit of continuous improvement is essential for growth and success. By continually seeking to improve yourself, your work, and your surroundings, you’ll make progress and achieve your goals.
Continuous improvement is especially important in the context of local government comprehensive plans. These plans are designed to guide the development and decision-making of municipalities over the long term, and because of this, they should be reviewed regularly and updated to reflect changing needs and priorities. Continuously improving the comprehensive plan prepares local governments to remain relevant and effective in guiding the growth and development of your area. This makes sure the community is able to overcome future challenges and create opportunities for residents. In this article, you’ll learn about:
- Engaging the community
- Analyzing municipal assets
- Developing the vision and mission
- Optimizing land use
- Strengthening the transportation infrastructure
- Continuous updating
1. Community input for your local government comprehensive plan
Reflect on your locality’s values, needs, and aspirations. Your municipality can engage residents, business owners, and other stakeholders through public meetings, surveys, and various forms of outreach. Gathering input and ideas for the comprehensive plan is essential. There are several ways that local governments can engage the community in the planning process:
Public Meetings
Hold public meetings to discuss the comprehensive plan and get input from people in the area. These meetings can be in-person or held virtually, depending on your situation.
Surveys
Surveys are an effective way to gather input from a large number of people, either online or through mailed questionnaires. Surveys can ask about residents’ values, priorities, and ideas for the local government’s comprehensive plan. Here are 100 survey questions to ask when creating or updating the plan.
Focus groups
Focus groups are small, moderated discussions that allow a group of people to share thoughts and ideas about a specific topic. Focus groups are used to gather input on specific aspects of your comprehensive plan, such as land use, transportation, or community amenities.
Stakeholder committees
Local governments can convene committees or task forces composed of stakeholders, such as business owners, local leaders, and representatives from different neighborhoods or interest groups. These committees can provide input and guidance on your comprehensive plan.
Online engagement
Local governments use social media, websites, and other online platforms to engage and gather input on their comprehensive plans. This can include posting information about the plan and asking for feedback, as well as hosting virtual meetings or webinars.
2. Emphasizing your community’s uniqueness in the local government’s comprehensive plan
Your plan should take into account the unique strengths and resources of the area. Cultural and historical sites, natural resources, and economic assets are great places to start. Local governments can also use data to identify these assets and incorporate them into the comprehensive plan. Community assets can include a variety of resources and to identify them, local governments can use a variety of data sources and tools. Some points to emphasize and analysis tools to use are:
Cultural and historical sites
These can include landmarks, museums, and other sites that are important to cultural or historical heritage.
Natural resources
Natural resources can include parks, forests, rivers, and other outdoor spaces that provide recreational, environmental, and economic benefits to your community.
Economic assets
Economic assets can include businesses, industries, and other sources of economic activity that contribute to the prosperity of the area.
Census data
Census data can provide information about demographics, income, and other characteristics.
GIS mapping
Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping can be used to visualize and analyze data such as land use, transportation, and natural resources.
Community surveys
Surveys and focus groups are used to gather input from residents about the features and services most important to them. This is a list of 100 survey questions you can use when creating or updating your plan.
3. Developing a vision and mission
Your municipality’s comprehensive plan should articulate a clear vision for the future and set specific goals to guide decision-making during development. Local governments can work with residents and businesses to identify and prioritize these goals. A vision statement is a broad, long-term statement of what the community wants to be in the future.
Engage the community
As mentioned previously, engaging with everyone who lives in the area is an important step in the planning process. Local governments can use public meetings, surveys, focus groups, and other forms of outreach for collecting input and ideas.
Identify key issues and challenges
Local governments use data and analysis to identify key issues and challenges such as population growth, economic development, transportation, or environmental sustainability. Think of these when establishing your mission.
Prioritize goals
Your municipality can work to identify and prioritize the goals that are most important to the residents and businesses. This involves prioritizing goals based on their alignment with the vision, their potential impact, and their feasibility.
Develop action or strategic plans
Strategic plans outline the specific steps and strategies that will be used to achieve the goals of your local government’s comprehensive plan. Local governments can work with stakeholders to develop these plans and outline resources, timelines, and metrics needed to achieve the goals.
4. Optimizing land use in your comprehensive plan
You need to include a land use plan that guides the development and use of land within the area. This includes recommendations for the types and locations of residential, commercial, and industrial development, as well as open space, parks, and other public amenities. To create a land use plan, local governments can:
Engage the community some more
As with other many other aspects of the local government comprehensive plan, it’s important to engage folks in the land use planning process. Use public meetings, surveys, focus groups, and other forms of outreach for input and ideas from community members about the types and locations of land uses that are most important to them.
Analyze existing land uses
Local governments can use data and analysis to understand the current land uses in the community, including the types and locations of residential, commercial, and industrial development, as well as open space, parks, and other amenities. This will help identify any imbalances or shortages in the types and locations of land uses.
Identify future land use needs
Local governments use data points to project future land use needs based on factors such as population growth, economic development, and changes in land use patterns. This helps identify areas where new development may be needed, as well as areas that should be preserved for open space or other purposes.
Develop land use recommendations
Based on the input from stakeholders and the analysis of existing and future land use needs, you can develop recommendations for the types and locations of land uses. These recommendations should be guided by the vision and goals of the comprehensive plan and should be consistent with the feedback you’ve received and the priorities of the area.
5. Strengthening the transportation and infrastructure
Address the transportation needs of the area including roads, public transportation, bike, and pedestrian facilities, and other infrastructure. You can use the comprehensive plan to identify and prioritize transportation and infrastructure projects. Developing transportation and infrastructure plans is an important aspect. To develop transportation and infrastructure plans, local governments can:
Continuing to engage the community
It can’t be said enough, it’s important to engage stakeholders in the transportation planning process. Local governments can use public meetings, surveys, focus groups, and other forms of outreach to collect input and ideas from residents and businesses about their transportation needs and preferences.
Analyze existing transportation and infrastructure
Similar to the steps included in a Land Use component, local governments use data and analysis to understand the current state of the transportation and infrastructure in the community, including the types and locations of roads, public transportation, and other infrastructure. This helps start with any deficiencies or needs for improvement.
Identify future transportation and infrastructure needs
Local governments can use data and analysis to project future transportation and infrastructure needs based on factors such as population growth, economic development, and changes in transportation patterns. This can help to identify areas where new infrastructure may be needed, as well as areas that should be preserved for open space or other purposes.
Develop transportation and infrastructure recommendations
You develop recommendations for transportation and infrastructure projects through the feedback received when engaging residents and businesses. These recommendations should be guided by the vision and goals of the local government’s comprehensive plan and should be consistent with values and priorities.
6. Always sharpen up your local government’s comprehensive plan
You can use a variety of strategies, such as zoning regulations, capital improvement plans, and economic development incentives, to implement and support your goals. Implementing and updating your local government comprehensive plan is an important step in ensuring the plan is effective:
Zoning regulations
Local governments use zoning regulations to control the types and locations of land uses within the community. Zoning regulations account for the land use recommendations such as designating areas for residential, commercial, or industrial development.
Capital improvement plans
Capital improvement plans outline the infrastructure projects that a local government plans to undertake in the future. These projects include transportation and infrastructure projects, as well as other public amenities, like parks and recreational facilities.
Economic development incentives
Local governments can use economic development incentives, such as tax breaks or grants, to support the prerogatives of the comprehensive plan. These incentives are used to encourage development that aligns with the vision and goals of the plan or to stimulate economic growth in specific areas of the community.
Regular review and update
A local government comprehensive plan is a living document that should be regularly reviewed and updated to reflect the changing needs and priorities of the community. Use data and analysis to monitor the progress of the plan and make any necessary updates.
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