Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Comprehensive Plan topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
East Point planners review comprehensive plan, future land‑use map and new mixed‑use zoning
Summary
Kimberly Smith, director of the City of East Point Planning and Community Development Department, presented an overview of the city's comprehensive plan, future land‑use map and a newly created mixed‑use zoning classification at a community engagement event.
Kimberly Smith, director of the City of East Point Planning and Community Development Department, presented an overview of the city's comprehensive plan and future land‑use map at a City of East Point community engagement event. The presentation covered why the comprehensive plan matters, how it links to the zoning ordinance, and a new zoning classification staff developed to bridge industrial and residential areas.
Smith said the city updated the comprehensive plan in 2022 and adopted it in 2023 and that the state requires municipalities to update the plan every five years. "We are mandated by the state to update this plan every 5 years," she said. She told attendees the plan reflects roughly 10 community outreach meetings with business owners and residents and is intended to guide how the city grows over the next 10 to 20 years.
The plan includes a future land‑use map with distinct character areas and colors staff use to describe compatible uses. Smith described a spectrum from suburban residential (lighter yellow) to redevelopment and regional centers (deeper tan and red), neighborhood commercial (pink) and industrial or legacy industrial areas (blue). Staff also noted town centers with an architectural overlay, a Willingham warehouse district identified for reimagining, and an Industrial Business Park corridor along Commerce Avenue.
Smith and other staff explained that the Planning and Community Development Department created a new zoning classification called "mixed use commercial industrial" to allow a mix of light industrial, commercial and residential uses with buffering where industrial uses meet residential neighborhoods. That district is intended to support transition areas where legacy industrial uses remain but new mixed uses are desired.
Staff pointed attendees to an online copy of the comprehensive plan (a QR code was shown during the presentation) and to the city's interactive zoning map for property‑specific information. Smith said the comp plan also contains demographic data and the policy direction that shaped the future land‑use designations.
Less critical details included examples staff used to describe how colors map to allowed densities and building types, and staff's statement that some industrial areas are "probably gonna be there for a while" and will be supported where feasible.
The presentation was informational; no council action or vote occurred during the event. Staff encouraged residents to use the online resources to check property designations and to contact the Planning and Community Development office with questions.
