CITY, RPC UPDATE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

JACKSON -- The city of Jackson's plan for the future will get a face lift soon.

The SEMO Regional Planning Commission is working with the city to update the city's Comprehensive Plan, which dates from 1981.

Mayor Paul Sander said the plan should be updated every five to six years.

"If you don't update it and stick it in a desk drawer, what good does it do?" said Sander. "You you should use it as a tool -- a guideline, not as hard, fast rule."

Sander said the ciyt's population has doubled since the plan was last updated.

"No one could have anticipated Jackson's growth in the past 16 years," he said.

Sander said he wants the city to keep up with current growth.

Tom Tucker, SEMO Regional Planning Commission director, said his office is collecting data for the plan revision.

The introduction to the plan is being completed. The goals and objectives will be submitted to the Jackson Planning and Zoning Commission and will be subject to their revision.

Data is being collected on socio-economic growth, present and past population trends, the number of building permits and other trend indicators.

Tucker said low, medium, and high population trends will be taken into consideration.

He said a loss or increase of major plant closings, retail jobs, public or private sector jobs could change predicted trends and thus adjustments would need to be made to the comprehensive plan.

Other areas to be updated include:

-- Existing land use

-- The city map

-- Major street plan

-- Natural resources

Tucker said the planning commission will get information from the Missouri Soil Conservation Service and Division of Land Survey and Geology.

"We will plan for a 20-year period," said Tucker.

The commission will design a plan, with approval from the Jackson Planning and Zoning Commission for land usage needs in the future.

On April 8, the Commission held a public meeting to take suggestions on goals and objectives and placed them in draft form. In late November or December, the commission will again conduct a meeting for public input.

Tucker said the city and the planning commission are just getting started.

"We have a lot of work yet to do," he said.