The City of Cordova received a $50,000 strategic planning grant in May from the Appalachian Regional Commission. The funds are going toward creating a comprehensive plan for the city, which will be crafted by the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham (RPCGB).
A comprehensive plan is an adopted policy document that is intended as a guide to decision-making over the next 5-15 years to assist city officials with making decisions regarding present and future needs based on public input. The plan is used for guiding decisions regarding land use (and rezoning), future growth and development, housing, community facilities and services, public infrastructure and capital improvements.
“The comprehensive plan work is in full swing,” said Renee Sides, the city’s economic development director, during the Tuesday, Aug. 8 Cordova City Council meeting. “I did check on the number of responses that we’ve had for the online survey, and we are up to 77.”
Sides said the city needs at least a 10 percent response rate to the online survey that Cordova residents are being asked to fill out. The city needs 180 responses to reach the 10 percent needed to move forward in the comprehensive plan project.
Cordova is hosting a comprehensive plan kickoff meeting on Thursday, Aug. 17 at 6 p.m.
“That is to discuss where we’re going and how we’re moving forward,” Sides said.
The city will then host an open house on Sept. 26 from 5:30 to 7 p.m.
“Those meetings are requirements for the grant,” Sides said. “We have to have so many community engagement activities.”
The survey can be found at plancordova.com or on the QR code on the flyer posted with this story.
