Elbert County working group adopts concise draft for Chapter 8 of comprehensive plan

Chair (S4) opened the July working session by urging the group to be efficient: "This is a working group session, and let's see how much we can close off of the comprehensive plan tonight." The meeting's primary task was Chapter 8 (Land Use), and staff had prepared a redlined draft for live editing.

After running through competing language from the consultant (Kimley Horn) and a shorter rewrite prepared by a commissioner (referred to in the transcript as Kevin's redlines), the group agreed to adopt the concise structure and to delete a third paragraph described by several participants as redundant. "We're replacing with these two, but deleting the third," staff member Jennifer (S5) said while editing the document live. Commissioners repeatedly returned to the same point: the FLUM should describe future aspirations and not be framed as a regulatory mechanism. As Chair (S4) said, the plan "does not itself change zoning or remove existing property rights."

The working group also confirmed the planning horizon language: the comp plan will reference a 20-year outlook but recommend review at roughly the 7-to-10-year mark so the plan does not fall behind changing conditions. Staff will request an updated, cleaner version of the future land-use map from the consultant and circulate the next redline for review prior to a scheduled public review period.