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The comprehensive plan provides the overall foundation for all land use regulation in city. State <br /> law encourages all cities to prepare and implement a comprehensive municipal plan. In addition, <br /> cities within the seven-county metro area are required to adopt comprehensive plans. Under state <br /> law, a city planning commission or department is tasked with the creation of the city's_ <br /> comprehensive plan. <br /> Planning is a professional field'that encompasses a broad <br /> array of skills and techniques. In developing More Information <br /> comprehensive plans, many cities use educated, certified Learn more about planning <br /> land use professionals. But at its core, planning is a commissions in: <br /> relatively straightforward three-step process: . Planning Commission Guide <br /> • First, a community takes stock of where it is <br /> today. <br /> • Second, the community generates a shared vision and goals for what the city will be like in <br /> the future. <br /> • Third, but certainly not least, the city develops a set of specific strategies to achieve that <br /> vision over time. <br /> There are many reasons cities create and adopt comprehensive plans. The planning process helps <br /> communities identify issues before they arise, stay ahead of trends in land use development and <br /> redevelopment, and anticipate and navigate change in populations and land use patterns. <br /> A comprehensive plan also protects and makes the most out of public investment by ensuring that <br /> development coincides with investments in infrastructure. A comprehensive plan protects and <br /> promotes the value of private property. Finally, a comprehensive plan provides legal justification <br /> for a community's land-use decisions and ordinances. <br /> The comprehensive plan itself can contain many Definition <br /> different elements, and importantly, is not limited in <br /> scope to land use. State law defines a comprehensive <br /> plan as a compilation of policies, <br /> The land use plan lays out desired timing, location, goals, standards and maps for <br /> design and density for future development, guiding the physical, social and <br /> redevelopment, or preservation. economic development, both public <br /> and private, of the municipality and <br /> In addition to a specific land use plan, comprehensive its environment. <br /> plans typically include plans for: <br /> • Public or community facilities, <br /> • Parks and open space, <br /> • Housing, <br /> • Natural resources, <br /> • Transportation, and <br /> • Infrastructure. <br /> 3 <br /> Small Cities Track-2011 <br /> Planning&Zoning 101—1 1 <br />