Mayor’s Plan to Make Central Grow

    In 2016 Mayor Junior Shelton stated emphatically “We’re going to make this city grow, and that is not a bad word.” He stated further “I believe . . . this administration is committed to do it, the Council is committed to do it, and we will not be deterred.” Beginning with the $70,000 study underway to update to Central’s Master Plan, Mayor Shelton is leading his own charge to accelerate development in Central.
    In their latest effort to help him reach that development goal, the City Council passed an ordinance Tuesday night to allow easier approval of developments that are currently contrary to Central’s Master Land Use Plan. The justification for the approval may now be based on two new reports produced by the Mayor’s office.
    This amendment to the zoning code provides for an Economic Impact Statement and a Master Plan Context Analysis to be performed by the Mayor's Office as a part of the process for approving a development. No details are provided for the parameters of these reports, how they will be compared to the Master Plan, or what level of “economic impact" can be used to override the Master Land Use Plan.
    This new process is being implemented before the $70,000 process of updating the Master Plan is completed, which the consultant estimates will take six to twelve months. It was explained at Tuesday’s Council meeting that until the $70,000 Master Plan update is completed, the Master Plan Context Analysis will allow the consultant to recommend rezoning of property inconsistent with Central’s current Master Plan.