ABSTRACT
Many local governments are seeking to manage development and change through strategic planning. Strategic planning has become a familiar term in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. By 1980, only four years after a Comprehensive Plan 1995 had been adopted, community leaders and the local planning commission realized that Charlotte-Mecklenburg was changing more rapidly than had been expected. Having combined growth assumptions with citizen input, the planning staff identified eight critical issues that needed to be addressed in the 2005 Plan. Selecting an action plan was the next step. Since resources were limited, the implementation tools were narrowed into five categories: continued planning, regulations, public investment, organization, and legislation. Incorporating strategic planning into all land use planning activities, monitoring the 2005 Plan every five years, developing enterprise areas as a growth redirection strategy for weak market locations, and completing area plans for defined regions are examples of tools that were suggested for continued planning.
