COMPREHENSIVE PLAN ANALYSIS

Comprehensive Plan Analysis

Abstract

The Carbondale Comprehensive Plan identifies the forces that have and will influence the City's land use pattern, social structure, and economy, and sets forth a planned response to the changes they likely will bring. The plan builds on the relevant policies of the 1979 Comprehensive Plan and updates the City's approach to planning by building upon the current strengths of the community and recognizing future trends. Some of the strengths which set Carbondale apart from other cities, and what this plan seeks to preserve and enhance, include community character, neighborhoods, natural features, and transportation networks.

Table of Contents

Introduction4

Analysis5

Economy6

Transportation6

Industrial7

Residential7

Development Strategy8

References9

Comprehensive Plan Analysis

Introduction

A comprehensive plan is a land use document that provides the framework and policy direction for land use decisions. Under Washington state's Growth Management Act (GMA), the plans contain the following chapters: land use, transportation, housing, capital facilities, utilities, shorelines, and rural (for counties). Chapters addressing economic development and parks and recreation also are required, if state funding is provided. Optional chapters may be included such as: conservation, energy, recreation, and subarea plans where appropriate.

Comprehensive plans identify where and how growth needs will be met. Adjacent jurisdictions are required to have plans that are consistent. These plans then provide the basis for many of the policies, regulation, and budget decisions that cities and counties will make. A comprehensive plan is a policy document that describes what Town residents want the community to be in the future and charts strategies for achieving this (American Planning Association, 2003). The plan serves as the foundation for decisions about Town land use, infrastructure and services. The comprehensive plan does not change or create any regulations or requirements, but it may recommend new policies and regulations as implementation strategies.

Five factors make a plan comprehensive:

The plan covers the entire geography of the Town.

The plan integrates authentic and diverse community participation.

The time horizon considered in the plan is long-range, extending one or two decades into the future and well beyond the pressing concerns of today.

The plan provides comprehensive guidance on where and how growth and various land uses should take place.

The plan clarifies relationships between physical development goals, such as land use and infrastructure or land conservation, with social and economic goals, such as economic development.

Analysis

The analysis of the resources, facilities and conditions described in the inventory is divided into four simple categories: assets, liabilities, opportunities and constraints (or threats). In other words, what is good, what is bad, what can be made the most of, and what has to be worked around, in terms of planning for future growth and development. An asset is a feature or quality that is good or valuable. Assets can include tangible items, such as location or natural resources, and intangibles, such as good will or reputation. A liability is something that currently exhibits qualities that detract from the desired use or that works to the disadvantage of the desired development (Cannon, 2004). Many features that are assets, particularly physical features, can also be ...