Jackson needs input on comprehensive plan

Over the past 10 years, Jackson has issued 985 building permits for new homes and 127 permits for multifamily residences such as duplexes or apartment buildings.

That growth spurt through Dec. 31, 2007, has cooled somewhat this year and it didn't occur in quite the way the city's current comprehensive plan predicted it would, said Janet Sanders, building and planning superintendent. There was more movement west along highways 34 and 72 and less to the south along Highway 25, she said.

But the purpose of that plan -- to help guide city leaders as they extend services and plan for land use and annexations -- made it a useful tool, and it is time to write an update. Jackson announced the first public hearing to be held by consultants Houseal Lavigne Associates will take place at 7 p.m. Dec. 17 in the council room at city hall.

"It is very, very important that as many of the people in the public, citizens and business owners, provide some input for this plan because we don't know where the citizens want the city to go in the future if they don't tell us," Sanders said.

The plan will cover almost every aspect of city-offered services, from designating commercial zones to where roads need to be improved and whether the city's utility infrastructure delivering electricity, water and sewer services are ready for additional customers, she said.

Houseal Lavigne, based in Naperville, Ill., won the contract with an $85,000 proposal to do the work. The consulting firm is expected to deliver the plan next fall, Sanders said.

The plan will study both the potential for growth and development as well as the best means for redeveloping parts of the city, especially the uptown area near the county courthouse and city hall.

The plan can guide school officials as they form a strategy for future classroom needs and business owners who want to decide whether to expand or locate in Jackson, Sanders said.

The public hearing is the first of several that will be held in coming months, she said. The consultants will also meet separately with representatives of the Jackson School District and business leaders, she said.

While the number of residences has increased by an average of 110 per year for 10 years, enrollment in Jackson schools has been relatively stable for much of that time. In the 2002-2003 school year, for example, the district had 4,623 students enrolled, according to figures from the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. This year, there are 4,618 students, superintendent Ron Anderson said Tuesday.

The number has been as many as 70 below and 57 above this year's figure during the intervening years.

The district has been building in recent years, expanding the junior high and high school. The next construction project will likely be a new elementary school, Anderson said. The district already owns the land where it plans to build, he said.

The district, which includes a considerable area outside Jackson city limits, has not seen much growth from new construction because families are having fewer children, Anderson said. The elementary schools are getting crowded because of new education programs and mandates require additional space and resources, he said.

The new comprehensive plan, as it relates to the schools, needs to focus on road access to the buildings more than trying to direct the location of new construction, he said. The district can deal with new subdivisions by adjusting attendance boundaries, he said.

"We need appropriate streets and roads to have accessibility to the facilities that are out there," he said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

388-3642

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