Cookeville will host a public meeting Tuesday to gather community feedback on the Cookeville 2050 Comprehensive Plan.
Community Development Director Jon Ward said the meeting presents a current analysis and solicits public comments. Ward said the city has already utilized a random sample survey and a recently relaunched online survey to gather initial thoughts from residents regarding the next 20 years.
“The folks that live here are the most important people the plan serves, right?” Ward said. “So, you want to hear from the public and what their thoughts and opinions are and concerns and, you know, that’s a very critical part of any plan development.”
Ward said congestion has emerged as one of the most significant concerns from residents who have participated in the planning surveys so far. Ward said these comments help the Planning Commission and City Council determine where to make future investments and how to evaluate new development proposals.
“Traffic’s one of the biggest concerns we hear from the feedback we’re receiving,” Ward said. “That’s one of the things that persons that have participated in our survey have indicated was something we should be paying particular attention to.”
Ward said housing costs and the location of new residential developments are also primary concerns for citizens living in a rapidly expanding area.
“One of the biggest things is, you know, I mean, we want managed growth, right?” Ward said. “And we want to protect our single-family areas. You want thriving neighborhoods.”
Ward said the planning process involves identifying where infrastructure, such as streets and utilities, has the capacity to support higher-density housing. Ward said the city is currently identifying vacant land that can support growth while attempting to preserve the existing vibe of Cookeville and Putnam County.
“That’s why we have a plan that we’ve been working off of, and that’s why we’re updating ours now, trying to find those spots while, you know, trying to preserve the character of the community and protect the neighborhoods and provide a guide for the Planning Commission and Council, moving forward,” Ward said.
Ward said the city employs full-time planning staff and holds monthly public meetings to ensure residents can share observations about issues they notice during their daily commutes. Ward said the Planning Commission will be the first body to review and approve the updated plan document.
“The citizens of the city have a lot of good ideas and a lot of good comments, and they know where issues are, that we don’t know where every issue is,” Ward said. “On your particular commute (you) might notice something like, ‘Hey, you know, this is in my neck of the woods, that’s something we should be looking at.’ And we look for those ideas and we get a lot of good ideas that way.”
Ward said the 2050 plan allows the city to evaluate how it has changed since the last planning cycle and establish a new direction for the future.
“It’s a opportunity for the city to look at how we’ve changed since our last plan, and then where we want to go in the future,” Ward said.
