The City of Marietta is updating its Long-Range Comprehensive Plan, last adopted in October of 2017, and is seeking input from residents and businesses to help shape the plan’s content and direction. The City has established a web page devoted to the timeline and purpose of the plan update and provides opportunities to engage in public participation activities.
Last month, the City held an initial public hearing to provide the community with the process used to develop the comprehensive plan update and opportunities for public input. In addition, through March, community members can participate in an online public survey located on the Atlanta Regional Commission’s site.
At least every ten years, the Georgia Planning Act of 1989 requires that every local government in Georgia develop and adopt a comprehensive long-range plan to maintain Qualified Local Government (QLG) status. Much like the 2021 comprehensive development plan update adopted by the City of Atlanta to maintain the QLG status, Marietta also benefits from the continued status to receive state grants, loans, and other financial resources to aid in the implementation of the comprehensive plan.
As outlined by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA), the updated Marietta comprehensive plan will serve as a facts-based resource for officials, residents, businesses, and investors that tracks the implementation of community-based policies. According to the City’s website, through the development and implementation of the plan, the City of Marietta will have a strategic direction that guides decision-making to maximize resources, mitigate challenges, and shape development. Additionally, this document will provide clarity to stakeholders allowing them to understand the direction of their community.
To assist in creating the updated plan, the City Council has appointed a Steering Committee who will act as a stakeholder advisory panel, providing input to City Planners and public officials throughout the planning process. As in the case of Marietta, it is a customary practice to have a Steering Committee comprised of local officials, the business community, vital non-profit agencies, and citizen groups as members assisting in soliciting and interpreting comprehensive planning input and data.
According to the City’s website, one of the fundamental responsibilities of local government is urban planning which describes the vision and process to reach community goals related to growth and development in the next five to twenty years.
The anticipated adoption date for the revised comprehensive plan is on or before October 31, 2022.
