If you’ve ever sat through a city meeting or browsed a planning department’s website, you’ve probably seen the term “Comprehensive Plan”. But what exactly is it and why does it matter so much?

In short:

A comprehensive plan is a long-range guide for how a city or county should grow, develop, and change over time usually looking 10 to 20 years ahead. It’s not just about land use. A good comp plan touches on housing, transportation, parks, sustainability, economic development, public services, and more.

What’s in it?

- A vision statement (what the community wants to become)
- Goals and policies (how to get there)
- Maps (especially future land use maps)
- Data and trends (to back up the direction)
- Implementation strategies (how it’ll all happen — ideally)

Why does it matter?

Because it guides decision-making across everything from zoning changes to infrastructure investment. Comprehensive plans help align short-term actions with long-term goals. They also help cities stay eligible for grants, coordinate across departments, and create a legal foundation for local planning decisions.

Why YOU should care:

- Because it affects your neighborhood — what can be built, preserved, or changed.
- Because it impacts affordability, mobility, and your quality of life.
- Because once a comp plan is adopted, it shapes decisions for years and your voice can shape it before that happens.

If you care about how your city grows, where housing goes, how traffic flows, or whether your community gets walkable parks or strip malls — the comprehensive plan is where those decisions start.

‍