Local Planning Assistance

ARC Offers Free Local Planning Assistance

The Atlanta Regional Commission’s Community Development Division leads a variety of workshops, charrettes, and planning assistance teams each year.  These activities are in response to local planning and visioning needs on an ad-hoc basis and are typically outside the more formal context of some of the division’s other functions and programs.

Below are examples of some of our recent work in this regard.

South Fulton Parkway Corridor Plan

The South Fulton Parkway Corridor is approximately 20 miles, stretching from the intersection of I-85 and I-285 near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport to the border of Fulton and Douglas counties at the Chattahoochee River.

Since 2014 ARC has convened several meetings with diverse stakeholders throughout the corridor. In 2015, the Atlanta Aerotopolis Blueprint recognized South Fulton Parkway as a “Strategic Corridor” within the area of influence of the Aerotropolis. Stakeholders developed a South Fulton Parkway Corridor Plan by combining recommendations of existing plans with preferred future land uses.

• Executive Summary and Introduction
• Current and Previous Plans
• Existing Conditions
• Concepts for Growth
• Preferred Concept
• Next Steps and Appendix

City of Brookhaven / MARTA: Brookhaven-Oglethorpe TOD Charette

ARC, Southface Energy Institute, MARTA, and the City of Brookhaven, facilitated a four-day Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) charrette focused on the redevelopment of the Brookhaven-Oglethorpe MARTA station parking lots. The community envisions the site becoming the town center/gateway for the newly formed city, with a mix of commercial, residential and civic uses.​​​

• Report
• Appendix

City of Stone Mountain: Main Street/Downtown Planning Retreat

ARC and the City of Stone Mountain facilitated a planning retreat for the city’s Main Street, Downtown Development Authority (DDA) and Visitors Center boards. The goals of the retreat included:

• prioritizing short-term and long-term goals and thinking collaboratively
• developing a work program for 2014 based on the 2013 DDA, Main Street and Visitors Center programs;
• organizing all programs and activities using the Main Street Four Point Approach;
• and prioritizing programs and activities using the Main Street Eight Guiding Principles.

Report

City of Pine Lake: Community Visioning Retreat

ARC facilitated a community visioning retreat for the leadership and key stakeholders of the City of Pine Lake. The goals were to confirm a vision for the city’s long-range planning and budgeting, to develop a path toward a 3-5 year budget, and to identify concrete priorities and clear, actionable outcomes.

Retreat activities focused on four components:

1. Community Ideals
2. Community Perceptions
3. SWOT Analysis
4. Prioritization Outcomes

Report