Vision 2037 ready to view by Friday
Published 12:00 pm Tuesday, September 15, 2015
The city’s new comprehensive plan, Vision 2037, is almost complete and could be ready for public viewing by Friday afternoon, said Oxford City Planner Andrea Correll.
The 144-page document will be available for the public to view online on the city’s website. Hard copies will be made available at the Planning Department and at the Oxford and Lafayette County Public Library.
Earlier this year, the city hired a team of planners, the Orion/Walker Group, to help city planning staff with creating a new comprehensive plan which coincides with the city’s bicentennial anniversary.
Several public meetings were held to gain input from the community. The city also formed the Vision 2037 Committee, made up of local business people, longtime residents, University of Mississippi employees, county residents and others. Former Mayor Richard Howorth headed up the committee.
Vision 2037 will focus on four areas: preservation, community design, mobility and economics. The document is in three parts, according to Correll — strategic planning, appendixes and implementation strategies.
“It’s heavy with illustration,” she said Monday during the Oxford Planning Commission meeting.
Correll said the public is asked to review the plan during the month of October.
“We want October to be a time for people to chew on it for a while,” she said.
There will be three chances for the public to learn more about the plan and ask questions and give opinions.
On Sept. 29, the Advisory Committee will meet at 11:30 a.m. at City Hall to review the plan and ask questions of the planners. The public is invited to the meeting but there won’t necessarily be time for public input. At 3 p.m., the Oxford Planning Commission will meet at City Hall to do the same. Public input will be taken at the meeting.
However, the main public meeting will be at 5:30 p.m. at the Oxford Conference Center, where planners will present the plan and take questions and comments.
The final draft will go before the Board of Aldermen during another public hearing on Nov. 3 during its regular meeting at 5 p.m. The board could vote on that day to adopt Vision 2037 or push the voting off until their Nov. 17 meeting.
“We’re hoping everyone in the community can attend at least one of the meetings to learn more about this plan,” Correll said. “We’re looking for engagement. We’re also hoping for buy-in and support.”
Visit oxfordms.net for information.