The committee formerly known as Transportation and Planning is now simply Transportation. Council member David Howard, who chairs the committee, says that while the official council “focus areas” don’t mention the word “planning,” the committee name remains Transportation and Planning. Before Mayor Anthony Foxx took office in 2009, there was a committee known as Economic Development and Planning. When Foxx took office, it became Economic Development, and “Planning” was added to the title of the Transportation Committee, and there it remains.
Of course you can make the case that “planning” is embedded in many focus areas, such as environment, transportation, housing, etc. For the record, the focus areas are: Community Safety, Economic Development, Environment, Housing and Neighborhood Development and Transportation. Other committees are Budget, Government Affairs [no silly, this does not include Schwarzenegger, Edwards, et al] and Restructuring Government.
Pardon my bias here, but I want to stand up for the idea that planning, in and of itself, is important for a growing city such as Charlotte.
The City Council should make clear, as part of its focus areas, that planning is important. Aren’t the city’s plans a valued resource for the council and the whole community? If they aren’t, why not, and what needs to happen to make them so? A comprehensive city plan, drawn up with massive public involvement, builds buy-in from the community toward a vision for the city’s future, lays out a road map for policy changes that help get there, and builds buy-in as well for making those changes.
Planning should again become a visible part of the City Council’s focus.