Avondale Estates, GA — The Avondale Estates City Commission, at its Dec. 8 meeting, adopted the city’s updated comprehensive development plan that sets the goals and vision for the city through 2025.

Every five years, cities are required by state law to update their comprehensive development plan, a long-range action plan that guides development, investment and allocation of services.

The city sent the draft comprehensive development plan to the state Department of Community Affairs in October, so the agency could review the plan and provide feedback. Since then minor changes have been made including adding a section that describes the community, adding some titles, including a description of the steering committee, and adding information about housing, which included a tally of the number of single family versus multifamily homes, Assistant City Manager Shannon Powell said.

“It’s a physical plan,” Powell previously said. “It is designed to be around the things where you have a stick in the ground.”

The comprehensive plan highlights the city’s vision, goals, accomplishments and work plan. According to the goals, the city is working to capitalize on the qualities and values that have made for a successful community.

According to the Sept. 22 agenda packet, some goals that were added or changed include:

— Encouraging environmental and economic sustainability and resiliency,

— Strengthening existing businesses and driving sustainable economic development by leveraging the city’s unique identity and location in the region and continuing to develop a walkable downtown, and

— Promoting an active, healthy community with equitable and inclusive opportunities for recreation and the enjoyment of the outdoors.

According to the comprehensive plan, another goal is to “[b]uild a diverse, welcoming environment for all individuals, regardless of race, ethnicity or place of origin, which enhances the Avondale Estates cultural fabric, economic growth, an overall prosperity for current and future generations.”

Some highlights of the work plan include implementing the stormwater capital improvements program, creating a public art program and exploring mechanisms to encourage and introduce green infrastructure.

Overall, the comprehensive development plan is an aspirational plan. The plan lists projects the city would like to do, but City Manager Patrick Bryant previously said there is no consequence for the city for not performing any of the goals or the work plan outlined in the plan.

“I think it’s important that we give it enough thought to use it as the guide post moving forward, but it’s really more of the 50,000-foot view than the ground level view,” Bryant said.

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