City working toward new comprehensive plan

By Randy Bell

Clinton’s long-range development roadmap is overdue for an update, and the City is getting some professional help in putting together a new comprehensive plan.

“I’m talking with the Central Mississippi Planning and Development District [CMPDD],” says Clinton’s Director of Community Development Roy Edwards. “They’re getting ready with surveys and scheduling a town hall meeting for people to come in and speak,” Edwards says. “We may have two of those [meetings].” The CMPDD has already gotten input from City department heads.

A comprehensive plan provides a broad look at a variety of future issues, including transportation, facilities and land use.

According to Edwards, “It gives goals and objectives that we should meet.”

Clinton’s current comprehensive plan was approved in 2018. Edwards says, ideally, the plan should be updated every five or six years.

“We’re a little bit behind,” he says.

CMPDD says it works closely with local governments across central Mississippi to prepare and update their comprehensive plans to “help communities balance economic development, housing, infrastructure and natural resources.”

Edwards says district staff will send the City a draft of the updated plan.

“We’ll work with the Board of Aldermen to get it into a final stage.”

While the plan will address future land use in Clinton, Edwards says it won’t have any immediate impact on zoning.

“It’s not intended to necessarily go out and change everything once the comprehensive plan is adopted, but it gives us the basis [to make future changes].”