Kennesaw city officials presented key points for the 2022 comprehensive plan Thursday and announced a steering committee would make recommendations to the City Council before the plan can be adopted in June.
City planning officials held a second public engagement meeting at the Ben Robertson Community Center to obtain feedback from citizens for their 2022 comprehensive plan.
Kennesaw zoning administrator Darryl Simmons and project manager Albert Trevino discussed topics such as land use, economic development, transportation, local universities and housing.
Attendees voiced support for changes that would accommodate a growing city, including better public transportation and more housing and pedestrian walkways, especially surrounding Kennesaw State University.
Trevino said a steering committee, which will be meeting in the next few weeks, includes representatives from diverse interest groups in Kennesaw, including “economic stakeholders, religious leaders and business owners.”
Georgia requires local governments to update their comprehensive plans every five years. The latest version cis set to be adopted by June 30.
Rebecca Patterson, a local real estate agent and member of the Kennesaw Planning Commission, attended the meeting in hopes of “being a part of the conversation.”
Patterson and her family have been lifelong residents of Kennesaw. She said she hopes to see new developments revitalize and bring revenue to the city as a result of the meeting.
“Everything around us has been cleared away in downtown Kennesaw,” Patterson said. “There are now $300 million developments and with my background in real estate, I’ve been waiting for them to have this meeting.”
Although all citizens of Kennesaw are encouraged to complete an online survey to gauge the assets and challenges they see in the city, attendees had a chance to also speak with city planning officials in person.
“We are trying to not just capture the opinions of residents that come to meetings like this, in person, but we have a pretty strong online presence as well,” Simmons said. “We need to use all the technology that’s available to us.”
Simmons also urged residents to contact the city with questions or suggestions for the comprehensive plan.
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