Thomasville prepares to update developmental code

THOMASVILLE — The Thomasville City Council unanimously adopted “Blueprint: Thomasville 2028,” the comprehensive plan for the city in July. Building on the comprehensive planning process, the focus now shifts to implementation. That initiative, according to city planners, will begin in January when a 12- to 18-month process kicks off that will address Thomasville’s development code.

“Our goal is to (utilize) a public process that will first educate our community on the importance of a development code update while also illustrating how this builds upon the vision set by the community during the Blueprint process,” City Planner Kenny Thompson said.

A planned workshop’s goal is to help provide information to the community on the existing regulations and the various regulating documents that help guide development in the Thomasville community.

“Ultimately, we hope to join the multiple documents that presently exist into one unified ordinance that will help eliminate conflicting regulations, streamline the approval process and make what is allowed to be built more understandable and in keeping with the desires of our community,” said Thompson, who added that Dover, Kohl and Partners have once more been engaged to help guide the city’s development ordinances update.

“Dover, Kohl and Partners worked with us through the development and creation of ‘Blueprint: Thomasville 2028,’” Thompson said. “They were a great asset to our community and were instrumental in helping us achieve the level of public input that was so important to our comprehensive plan. We feel that same level of community engagement is just as important in the code update process.”

Thompson said a review of the city’s development codes was conducted during comprehensive planning.

“We discovered that our code had several inconsistencies and was in need of a full update,” Thompson said, adding that having an up-to-date city code is very important for the community. “Currently, our code can make the process difficult for those wanting to invest in our community and does not always produce the best results. This update will help us make some much-needed adjustments and produce a new development code that will be easier to use and to understand.”

The process to update the city’s code begins next month with a meeting designed to gather initial public input.

“We want our community to have a voice in building the framework for the code update,” Thompson said. “Public input will help us to be sure that the new code meets the objectives of our community.”

While the January workshop is a first, Thompson said it would not be the only opportunity for the community to take part in the code update process.

“While this event creates an essential foundation for the code update, it is only the beginning of a transparent and inclusive process,” Thompson said. “We’ll have sessions later in the spring that will give people even more opportunities to share their opinions about this important process.”

The interactive presentation and discussion will be held Jan. 7 beginning at 5:30 p.m. in Council Chambers. During the workshop, a presentation will be given followed by an open dialogue regarding the code’s needed updates. The city planners will also use audience response software to compile data and help come up with a framework for the updated code.