State Approves Sandy Springs Comprehensive Land Use Plan

SANDY SPRINGS, GA -- The work the city of Sandy Springs has put into planning for the next 10 years of development has reached a major milestone.

That's because the Georgia Department of Community Affairs and the Atlanta Regional Commission have approved the city's Comprehensive Land Use Plan.

Branded as the Next Ten initiative, the project was a collaborative and iterative planning process which began with a visioning exercise in June 2015 and continued throughout 2016. Sandy Springs leaders kept the community involved through a series of public and stakeholder meetings, mobile and community workshops, an interactive website and ongoing dialogue with community members.

"The document Sandy Springs has produced is truly exceptional," Jon A. West, senior planner of Local and Intergovernmental Programs at DCA, said in notifying the city of the approval. "It’s demonstrative of a superlative commitment to excellence in our field.”

Sandy Springs submitted the draft Comprehensive Plan and four Small Area Plans to the DCA and ARC on Dec. 28, 2016. A plan outlines the framework for development, recognizing the physical, economic, social, political, aesthetic and related factors within a community, looking long-range, usually 20 years or more.

The plan also provides guiding principles for growth and development. With the DCA and ARC approval, the plan now goes before the Sandy Springs City Council for adoption.

While a comprehensive land use plan provides guidance, development regulations provide the legal code to support the vision.

“This has been a long process, but in shaping the city’s future, we wanted a deliberate progression which was fueled by community input," said Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul. "I encourage all to participate. While the end result provides the structure for city leadership in making decisions, the time to influence those sets of rules is through this development process."

A framework will be presented to the community on March 20, with an open house at 4 p.m. and official meeting beginning at 6 p.m. at City Hall.

Following the public overview, the city’s planning staff will host informational meetings in each of the city’s six Council districts to details plans and answer questions related to the district.

Sandy Springs also plans to host drop-in sessions each Wednesday in April for residents to stop by City Hall to review the proposed zoning and ask questions. A complete schedule of all meetings related to the development code will be release later this month.

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