2018-032 Attachment-Comprehensive Plan Update

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PART ONE COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING: BACKGROUND, FUNCTIONS, PRINCIPLES, AND PRACTICE SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION 1. General Comment The purpose of this section is to describe the importance, purposes, and brief history of city planning in Paris. There are a number of ways to prepare a comprehensive plan and also different elements may be included in plans, reflecting the particular orientation or emphasis of the community. What is important is that a community has a comprehensive plan. 2. Definition of a Comprehensive Plan A comprehensive plan can be defined as a long range -plan intended to direct the growth and physical development of a community for a 20 to 30 year or longer period. Ideally, and if feasible, it is appropriate to prepare a comprehensive plan for the ultimate development of a community. This will allow for ultimate utility, transportation, and community facilities planning, and therefore can aid in a more time and cost-effective planning and budgeting program. The plan usually includes policies, or a statement of "Needs, Problems, Issues, and Opportunities" relevant to the development of various physical elements in the community such as land use, transportation, recreation, and other physical components of a municipality. The plan also serves as a basis for future physical development recommendations. These recommendations are supported by a set of needs and opportunities drawn from existing conditions and the desires and aspirations of the citizens. In its most basic terms, a comprehensive plan integrates all of its various parts, or sections, into a single, unified coherent plan that encourages its success through an effective and on-going implementation program. All professional city planners agree that a comprehensive plan should be comprehensive in scope, general in nature, and long-range in perspective. The comprehensive plan is the single most important document for managing a community's physical growth because it can (and should) consolidate and coordinate physical planning needs and opportunities, as well as all the separate community studies and plans that address various aspects of physical development in the city (e.g. utility plans, capital improvement programs, etc.) Further, comprehensive planning, to be effective, has to be an on-going process, involving periodic evaluation and updating; the comprehensive plan document, therefore, is one component of this on-going process. To further aid in its effectiveness, the comprehensive plan has to be based on a shared vision of the community. The continuing, on-going nature of contemporary comprehensive city planning involves learning, establishing a "community vision", community building, and setting (and refining) direction. These functions are part of the roles of all who are involved in the preparation, implementation, and updating of the community's comprehensive plan. 5