Land Use in the Next Comprehensive Plan

At a regular meeting this Tuesday evening, City Council will consider the land-use framework for Louisville’s next Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan is the principle document guiding the City’s development over the next decade. Here the word ‘development’ should be interpreted in its broadest sense, encompassing changes of all sorts, not merely changes of the built environment. For reference, you can access the City’s current Comprehensive Plan here. (Two so-called small areas plans, one for South Boulder Road and one for McCaslin Boulevard, supplement the City’s current Comprehensive Plan.) As mandated by the State, our community creates a new Comprehensive Plan every decade, a process informed by many factors including the existing Comprehensive Plan, the City’s other guiding documents, and, most especially, public input. Over the past year City staff have solicited public input on several occasions; you can learn about future opportunities for public engagement on the City’s Engage Louisville website.

The Comprehensive Plan’s land-use framework is arguably its most foundational element: by setting the City’s policies regarding future land-use, this framework will significantly shape the City’s development. Again, land-use policies address all aspects of our interactions (or lack thereof) with the place that is Louisville. The land-use framework will culminate in a City-wide land-use map showing the community’s vision for future development. While the Comprehensive Plan’s land-use framework establishes policies, the Comprehensive Plan is not itself a regulatory document. The Comprehensive Plan’s policies become regulatory in two principle ways: Louisville’s municipal code invokes the Comprehensive Plan’s contents, and City Council uses the Comprehensive Plan to inform a wide variety of decisions including changes to our land-use codes based on the Comprehensive Plan’s land-use framework. Accordingly, the Comprehensive Plan is a policy document of utmost importance.

The meeting on Tuesday (21 January) starts at 6:00 pm in City Hall’s Council Chambers. You can access the meeting packet here. After receiving a staff presentation and public comments, City Council will discuss potential land-use frameworks for the next Comprehensive Plan and provide direction to City staff for ongoing development of the next Comprehensive Plan. You can provide input before, during, or after the meeting. If you would like to provide input prior to the meeting, then email all of City Council at council@louisvilleco.gov, or contact me at jcooperman@louisvilleco.gov or through my website’s contact form. If you would like to provide input at the meeting, then attend in person or virtually to make public comments; City’s Council’s meeting information webpage provides more information. If you would like to provide input after Tuesday’s meeting, perhaps informed by the outcomes of City Council’s discussion, then contact City Council as above or make public comments at a subsequent City Council meeting. I look forward to considering your input.