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Residents get their say Tuesday night

By BEN NELMS
bnelms@TheCitizenNews.com

It’s all about the future and it happens only once every 20 years. Palmetto residents will have the opportunity to give their input at a community vision public hearing June 14 at 5:30 p.m. at city hall. At issue is the Palmetto Comprehensive Plan 2005-2025.

Elements of the comprehensive plan include Population, Natural and Cultural Resources, Housing, Intergovernmental Coordination, Economic Development, Transportation and Community Facilities and Services. The purpose of the meeting, said The Collaborative Firm Principal Planner Elizabeth McClendon, is to solicit public comment on the various aspects of the plan.

“This will be a fun workshop for citizens to participate in,” McClendon said. “We want people to give their input, to help create a vision for Palmetto. We want to know what they think is best for the city over the next two decades.”

McClendon said all the components of the plan will be reviewed. A portion of the meeting will include a visual survey of different types of potential development citizens might think best for the city in the coming decades.

Of particular significance are plan elements relating to populations projections, environmental issues, economic development, housing and transportation, McClendon said. These and all elements of the 20-year plan will be reviewed, she said. Presentation of the comprehensive plan components, said McClendon, enables Palmetto residents to see where they are as a community, to see where they are going and to provide input on how to get there.

An example of the importance and relevance of the 20-year plan can be seen the city’s population trends. Unlike most of Palmetto’s history, recent years have seen the beginning of what is anticipated to be explosive growth over the next two decades. The city’s population in 2000 was 3,400. Now in 2005, the city’s estimated population sits at 3,980. Estimates for 2010 shows 5,960 and increases through 2025 put the population at 10,260.

Population increases have far-ranging effects, including impacts on new housing, job creation and economic development, city infrastructure, environmental issues and transportation, to name a few. Overall growth will likely be accelerated in 2006 once sewer system upgrades are complete and the current moratorium on new sewage connections, hence new building construction, is lifted.

Other plan components to be addressed at the meeting include the number and types of housing units anticipated between 2005-2025, an inventory and assessment of the natural and historic/cultural resources within the city and the variety of city and community facilities and services that are present now and their potential need for review and updating in coming years as a result of continued citywide growth.

The initial public hearing on the 20-year comprehensive plan was held in November 2004. The city council is expected to approve the final draft July 7 for submission to Georgia Dept. of Community Affairs (DCA).

Twenty-year comprehensive plans are required of cities and counties in Georgia. Routed to DCA for final approval, the development of the plans are mandatory for obtaining a variety of state and federal funding. The plans cover 20 years and are updated every 10 years.