Cincinnati Council is expected to vote Wednesday to approve the city’s first comprehensive planin more than 30 years.
The Livable Communities Committee approved the proposal Monday night.
The document has been in the works for more than 3 years and focuses on what the city will look like in the future. Specifically it has strategies that for the first time focus on economic development activities in the neighborhoods.
Planning and Buildings Director Charles Graves described the plan this way.
"The vision for the future of Cincinnati is focused on an unapologetic drive to create and sustain a thriving inclusive urban community, where engaged people and memorable places are paramount, where creativity and innovation thrive, and where local pride and confidence are contagious," Graves said.
It’s a comprehensive document designed to serve as a long-range plan to guide and manage growth, protect the environment and influence future development in the city.
Caleb Faux is the chairman of the city planning commission. He said the process to develop the document was a good exercise for the city.
"Because this plan now will provide us with a framework as we move forward both for city council and members of the planning commission," Faux said. "When items come in front of us for consideration, we have a framework within which to make judgments and decisions in a way that is coordinated."
The plan has 5 key initiative areas: compete, connect, live, sustain and collaborate. There are 14 goals in the document plus numerous strategies and action steps.
The city will also use the plan as it creates future capital budgets to focus funds on projects that stabilize targeted neighborhoods and create what officials call transformative change.
The plan will be reviewed annually and will be updated every 5 years. After 10 years, the city will decide whether the document should be further revised or completely re-written.
