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South Fulton seeks wider outreach on comprehensive plan update; council presses for mail and robocalls
Summary
City staff presented a proposal from the Sizemore Group to add at least three additional community engagement meetings for the 2025 comprehensive plan update and requested $25,000 to fund the work. Councilmembers pressed staff to use mailed postcards, texts and robocalls to reach digitally disconnected residents and seniors and discussed extending
City Development Director Reggie McClendon told the City Council that the city's consultant, the Sizemore Group, recommended three additional public engagement meetings as part of the 2025 comprehensive plan update and estimated the cost of that added outreach at $25,000.
McClendon said the plan is to hold the extra meetings between Nov. 10 and Nov. 21 to gather comments in time to submit the draft comprehensive plan to the Atlanta Regional Commission and the Georgia Department of Community Affairs for review in December. He noted the $25,000 is a package price that includes meeting planning, facilitation, synthesis and reporting; the consultant proposes $2,500 for each additional community meeting and $3,000 for each additional public hearing beyond that.
Several councilmembers pushed staff to broaden the outreach methods. Councilwoman Helen Z. Willis and others argued that social media and web posts are insufficient to reach seniors and other residents not active online; they asked staff to add mailed postcards, text messages and robocalls to the engagement plan and to budget for those options. Director McClendon said staff can add those methods and recommended coordinating timing with council members for district‑level promotion. McClendon also offered to explore whether staff‑led meetings, followed by consultant synthesis, could moderate cost.
Why it matters: The comprehensive plan establishes the city's long‑range land‑use goals and informs zoning and investment decisions. Councilmembers repeatedly said residents told them they don't consistently receive notices about meetings and urged the city to use multiple communication channels to increase participation, especially in neighborhoods with lower digital connectivity.
What's next: Staff and the consultant will schedule the extra meetings in November, add mail/robocalls/texting options at council direction and return to council with any contractual adjustments needed to authorize the $25,000 engagement package.
