Richardson City Council outlined its goals for the city's upcoming comprehensive plan update during a March 20 meeting.

Richardson’s comprehensive plan is designed to be a roadmap of the city’s goals, objectives and policies for the next 20 years, guiding the city’s development and redevelopment efforts, according to city officials.

“The changes that have occurred in the community since the plan was last updated have been significant," said Mark Bowers, project manager, at the meeting. "A lot of the initiatives that were identified back then have been achieved. It’s now time to start and look at [the city’s] next steps.”

The scheduled comprehensive plan update will seek to collect data and develop feedback throughout 2023 before drafting in 2024. This comprehensive plan update will include several different components such as future land use, mobility and transportation, neighborhoods and housing, natural environment, and economic development.

Here is a list of some of the areas the city is wishing to address under each component:

• Future land use: analyze updated population growth/capacity; analyze updated demographics/psychographics; develop an updated Future Land Use Plan.
• Mobility//transportation: evaluate planned mobility projects, both in Richardson and surrounding communities; identify potential safety concerns; develop an updated Master Thoroughfare Plan.
• Neighborhoods and housing: prepare housing market assessment, strategies for new residential areas, policies and guidance for infill housing.
• Economic development: expand on Richardson Economic Development Strategic Plan; prepare commercial market assessment, focus on new development and rehabilitation/stabilization of existing nonresidential space.
• Community facilities: evaluate existing/planned facilities, including a new city hall and a possible indoor aquatics center.
• Natural environment: analyze the Solid Waste Master Plan; outline existing initiatives focused on water conservation, air quality, tree canopy expansion, and floodplain and waterway protection.

As part of the comprehensive update, the city will incorporate elements of the recently adopted Active Transportation Plan and Parks, Trails and Open Space Master Plan. Both plans were approved during a Feb. 27 council meeting.

"I'm excited that this will be a living document that collects all of the city's planning," Council Member Jennifer Justice said. "One of the critiques of our current comprehensive plan is that although we have done all this planning, we have all these little plans out there. Unless you do extensive digging, it's hard to comprehend what fully goes into it."

For more information on the comprehensive plan update, click here.