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Avondale Estates starts public process to update 2026 comprehensive plan
Summary
Planning Director Lori Leland Turner opened a public hearing and outlined the five-year update process required by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs, with public engagement events including a May 9 pop-up and a survey from May to early June; adoption is due by Oct. 31, 2026.
The Board of Mayor and Commissioners held a kickoff public hearing on April 22 to begin updating Avondale Estates’ comprehensive plan, Planning Director Lori Leland Turner told the board and public.
Turner said the city’s current plan, adopted in 2021, must be updated every five years to retain Qualified Local Government status under the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA), a designation that affects eligibility for some grants and programs. "Our comprehensive plan was adopted in 2021... it needs to be updated every 5 years," Turner said, and she described the state-required elements such as vision and goals, needs and opportunities, a community work program and land-use updates the city must complete.
Turner outlined the roles of the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) and city staff in outreach, noting ARC will help facilitate steering-committee meetings and manage an online engagement portal. She said a survey will run from May through early June, a pop-up engagement is scheduled for the Art & Wine Walk on May 9, and a second public hearing will follow ARC and DCA review. Turner reminded the board that the DCA deadline for adoption is Oct. 31, 2026.
Board members asked where the open house would be held and how the update will document accomplishments from the prior plan; Turner said the report of accomplishments will be part of the process and that the project team will present a revised plan after ARC and state review. The city will host multiple public engagement events and publish the survey through city e-news and in-person locations including the city hall lobby.
Next steps: ARC-led steering-committee meetings and a second public hearing in August will precede final edits and submission to the DCA; additional community input opportunities will be advertised in the coming weeks.
