Planning this Week - October 27

Halloween is around the corner, and it's scary to think how much we have done this month and how much more we have to do over the next two weeks.

Transportation Planning and the Comprehensive Plan are the two big-time consumers of our focus:

Transportation (Florence Area Transportation Study, FLATS): The Policy Committee (The FLATS decision-makers, read - the real hard workers of this outfit) will be meeting on November 10th at 10:30 at the City/County Complex, Room 803. The agenda will be out today or Wednesday (I am in Charleston tomorrow for a tree workshop). Send me an e-mail if you are interested in a copy.

The most important item is the presentation by our recommended consultant to do Florence's long-range transportation plan... what roads will be widened, circled, razed or paved... I invite all those citizens that drive cars, bicycles or walk to join in on the discussion...

Otherwise, every street will be limited to two-way traffic and have bicycle lanes, adequate sidewalks, tree lined medians and an occasional traffic circle. If you are okay with that, then don't worry - we've got you covered!

Comprehensive Plan: Again, this is the County's vision 20-30 years into the future. This plan should answer questions like 'where will the next school be built?', 'how many parks will we need for our growing population?', 'how many police will we need in the future?' and 'how do we grow responsibly?'

We are currently working on the Community Facilities and Future Land Use elements. Community Facilities focuses on infrastructure like roads, police, fire, sewer, schools, parks, etc. whereas the Future Land Use is the framework towards zoning (keeping the cold side cold and the hot side hot - see my previous blog)

At this Tuesday's County Planning Commission meeting (6:30PM City/County Complex, Rm 803), a workshop for planning members will be discussed for the Community Facilities element. We are currently finishing up maps and stats which we will share after the workshop (proposed for Nov 13th).

The Future Land Use Element requires a bit more procedure to get everyone on board and does not solely rely on statistics and levels of service. For that reason, this element takes more time and dedication to the newest planning principles: namely, sustainability!

How do we integrate sustainability into our plans? Now that is a good question to bring up to any planning commission member, elected official or employee of the City or County planning departments. They'll thank you for it!

Check out our future land use maps for Olanta and Scranton. Johnsonville's maps should be available soon as well as areas surrounding Pamplico and Lake City (these municipalities have their own planning, so we plan up to the cities' boundaries.) Olanta has a public meeting at their town hall on November 10th, 6:30PM to discuss their future land use.

We know there are planners out there - please help us plan for the next 30 years!