Mobile’s push to draft its first comprehensive, long-range city plan in 20 years took a public step forward Thursday with the announcement of two new committees stacked with more than 60 community leaders. Mayor Sandy Stimpson said the eight-month planning effort, branded “A Map for Mobile: A Framework for Growth,” is meant to shape the city’s long-term vision and guide development decisions for years to come.
According to the mayor’s office, an Advisory Committee will offer feedback throughout the process and work to ensure the new plan aligns with existing community and economic development efforts already underway in Mobile. A separate Outreach Committee will serve as a sounding board for the planning consultants and is designed to represent a wide cross-section of community stakeholders.
The Advisory Committee includes a mix of civic, business and institutional leaders such as Mobile City Council President Gina Gregory, Mobile County Commission President Connie Hudson, Mobile County Schools Superintendent Martha Peek, University of South Alabama President Tony Waldrop, Alabama State Port Authority director Jimmy Lyons, and Mobile Area Chamber of Commerce president Bill Sisson. Representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Alabama Power, the Downtown Mobile Alliance and several area universities and nonprofits round out the roster.
The Outreach Committee draws from a similarly broad pool, including figures from the Mobile County Health Department, Mobile Baykeeper, the University of South Alabama athletics department, and area law firms, among others.
The city hired Montgomery-based architecture and engineering firm Goodwyn Mills and Cawood roughly six weeks earlier to lead the planning process after the Mobile City Council approved the contract. The resulting plan is expected to address land use capacity, transportation, natural resources, community facilities, parks and open space, economic development, housing and infrastructure, while identifying gaps left by prior planning efforts.
Stimpson said the initiative is designed to avoid the fate of past city plans that were shelved after completion. He described the new plan as one intended to actually be implemented rather than filed away, pointing to the breadth of community involvement as a key difference from previous efforts.
A public workshop inviting residents to weigh in on ideas for Mobile’s future is scheduled for March 31, though a location had not yet been finalized at the time of the announcement. City officials encouraged residents across Mobile to attend and take part in shaping the plan.