On December 17, 2013, the Mayor and City Council adopted the City-Wide Element (Volume 2 of 2) of the 2013 Comprehensive Plan. The Neighborhood Element (Volume 1 of 2) was adopted on February 14, 2012. This action completes the formal statutory adoption process for the 2013 Comprehensive Plan, which is now in effect as the city's official planning policy document. Copies of both volumes of the plan can be accessed from this page.
Neighborhood Element
The Neighborhood Element serves as the primary public input document for the plan. It is based on a series of neighborhood meetings conducted throughout the city in 2010 and identifies the primary issues and concerns identified by citizens during those grass-roots meetings. Issues and concerns raised at each meeting were subsequently reviewed by a Planning Coordination Team consisting of staff representatives from all city departments.
Planning Coordination
Officials from the Allegany County planning division and the Maryland Department of Planning were also invited to serve on the Planning Coordination Team. During the Planning Coordination Team meetings, staff discussed the neighborhood issues and determined which could be addressed by the city and identified potential options to address them. The options identified by staff are discussed in the Neighborhood Element and were carried forward into the City-Wide Element for further consideration as part of the city's coordinated action plan. The Neighborhood Element also provides a historical and cultural overview of each residential neighborhood and provides insights on the most distinctive features of each neighborhood that help define its special character.
Future Needs
The City-Wide Element was designed to serve as the city's coordinated action plan to address future needs in compliance with the statutory requirements of The Land Use Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland. The City-Wide Element integrates the critical issues, concerns, and needs identified in the Neighborhood Element and presents a coordinated action plan to guide the future development and ongoing redevelopment of the city through the year 2033. Any questions regarding the adopted plan or its specific goals and action strategies may be addressed by contacting Margan Alban, GIS Specialist/Planning.