Community Plan Information
- What is a Community Plan?
- How is the Community Plan used?
- What is the difference between future planning in the Community Plan and current planning through zoning?
What is a Community Plan?
Community plans are future planning documents adopted by the Metropolitan Planning Commission. They describe the role each community plays in realizing the overall vision of the County - what residential, commercial, office and open space each community will house.
In 1998, Davidson County was divided into fourteen communities (see map of communities), so that future planning for growth and development could be considered on a community scale.
Each community has a community plan that is updated every seven to ten
years through a process involving the Metro Planning Department and residents,
business owners, institutional representatives and developers from the
community.
Community plans balance the community’s vision for the future with sound
planning principles and provide a course of action to build the community that
the stakeholders envision.
How is the Community Plan used?
The community plan includes land use policy and infrastructure recommendations.
The land use policy (seen in the “Structure Plan” in the table
above) guides zone change and subdivision decisions made by the Metro Planning
Commission and Metro Council. Meanwhile, the infrastructure recommendations
guide discussion on potential transportation and open space improvements.
If the Planning Department believes that specific neighborhoods within a community
need additional detailed study, then the Community Plan can lead into a Detailed
Neighborhood Design Plans.
What is the difference between land use policies and zoning?
Land use policies represent professional planning principles applied to stakeholders’ visions of how they want the city to grow. Community members help determine an area's land use policy through the Community Plan Update Process. After the Community Plan Update is approved by the Metro Planning Commission and the Metro Council, the land use policy it includes becomes the foundation of zoning and subdivision choices. The Land Development and Design Division of the Planning Department refers to the land use policy in the Community Plan Update as they make recommendations to the Metro Planning Commission on whether to approve or disapprove zoning and subdivision decisions.