By Tara DeRock Mahoney
Senior Staff Writer

Madison City Council members approved Monday night a resolution, effective Friday, to adopt and submit to the state a 5-year update to the city’s comprehensive plan (or comp plan).
“The comp plan is something we are required by the state to do every 10 years, and every 5 years we do an update,” said city Planning and Zoning Director Monica Callahan. The last complete comp plan was submitted to the state in 2004. Generally, the creation of a comp plan for a municipality or county involves a great deal of committee work and citizen input on what they would like to see in the city or county in the future.
“It helps you identify issues and opportunities,” said Callahan.
The comp plan update will include a copy of the city’s 2007 transportation study, as well as a recently completed Greenprint study identifying possible areas of greenspace and park development, among other things.
“It’s a summation…a program of work for the next five years,” said Callahan.
City staff members and council members praised the dedication and work that went into the development of the updated document.
“I know that when we are talking about grants that the city might apply for, it always goes back to the comp plan,” said Madison City Clerk    Mellie    Ann Thomas on Monday. “It’s the    comp    plan,    the comp   plan,   the   comp plan.”
As such, the completeness of the effort, as well as the community support for the project, is critical.
“This is not a law, it’s a plan, so it has flexibility built into it,” said Mayor Tom DuPree. “It’s extremely thorough.”
The council vote to adopt and send the comp plan update to the state was unanimous.

Printed in the February 26, 2009 edition.