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What is a Comprehensive Plan?
A Comprehensive Plan is a community's guide for making land use decisions. It is based on the community’s
values and vision for the future. The Comprehensive plan guides decision-makers towards the community vision
through goals and prioritized implementation strategies. Expressed with a land use map and through policies then
codified in land development codes it coordinates, and sets the stage for, other City plans i.e. capital improvement
plans, parks plans, streets plans, utility plans, etc. In short, it is a central manuscript, which coordinates city efforts
and priorities.
The City has done extensive planning efforts in the past including but not limited to: Infill and Redevelopment Program, The Growth Plan, The Strategic Plan, Pear Park Neighborhood Plan, 24 Road Corridor Plan, 24 Road Sub-area Transportation Plan, Riverside Parkway Plan, 2030 Transportation Plan. However, these plans were primarily done for a particular purpose and with a limited scope. For example, the
Growth Plan addresses future land use but does not include infrastructure; the Infill and Redevelopment Program
focuses on one particular part of the City but does not necessarily address related traffic circulation; the 2030
Transportation Plan focuses on major road systems and not necessarily on the cost of services needed to maintain
them over time. Often these plans are used in isolation of one another and isolation from decisions of other
departments. Without coordination, individual decisions may contradict each other and create unintentional
inefficiencies.
Until recently, informal coordination was adequate for our community. However, as our population grows,
management decisions become more complex and interrelated. The City is responding to new development
proposals at a faster pace while limiting growth impacts from diminishing the quality of life Grand Valley residents
enjoy. It is time for our community to revisit past decisions to determine if they are still appropriate, or if newideas and a new direction is needed.
In the Comprehensive Plan planning process, we will examine how focus City
funds to reach the common goals and engage all decision makers so the municipal body can function as a whole.
The comprehensive Plan will be a living document, one that is referenced in daily decision-making. It ties
individual plans and programs together, and relates them back to the common goals of the City. Thus, it serves as
a reference guide for all city departments. With a Comprehensive Plan that combines city needs together with the
public vision, all City departments can more efficiently coordinate efforts to reach that desired vision. With one
plan instead of several individual plans, the City canreduce duplication and potential conflicts work toward that uniform goal.
It should be said that much of the content in the existing plans and programs are still applicable. The
Comprehensive Plan process will help identify the areas of these plans that need improvement and retain those
that are still valid. The Comprehensive Plan will become the umbrella that aligns other plans and programs the
City has in place today, weaves them into one consistent fabric and unifies the direction to reach an overarching
vision for Grand Junction.
To request a video explaining the Comprehensive Plan process in more detail, please contact Lisa Cox, Planning Manager by email or by telephone (970) 244-1448; or Dave Thornton, Principal Planner by email or telephone (970) 244-1450.
Return to Comprehensive Plan main page
Last Update:
January 31, 2008
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