LIMA — Officials in Lima got their first chance to look at “Vision 2040” on Wednesday afternoon.
The Lima/Allen County Regional Planning Commission completed a draft for a comprehensive plan for the city. The name depicts the overall goal of the plan, to create a vision for the next several decades in Lima. The city of Lima will begin to implement Vision 2040 once approved by the city council.
Vision 2040 focuses on infrastructure, service, parks, zoning and more. The contents of the plan include population characteristics, infrastructure, economy, downtown and redevelopment.
As community development continues, the City of Lima wants to focus on home ownership, education and workforce development. Lima Mayor Sharetta Smith said the City believes these three topics coincide and as developed will improve life overall in the city of Lima.
The development of this plan began in 2020. From April to July 2021, the public was able to participate in a general survey of community needs.
“We gathered the public vision and created broader strategies to implement throughout the city and move forward as a community,” LACRPC representative Cody Doyle said.
The LACRPC will present the draft to its committees in late July. There will be a 30-day public comment period following the LACRPC committee’s review. City officials plan to present the final draft of Vision 2040 to council in late September.
Over the next two decades, as needs change, the plan will be revised. Vision 2040 is simply to “guide future decisions” for Lima, Smith said.
“A plan for the city of Lima has not been created since the 1950s,” Smith said.
The draft eventually will be available for the community on the LACRPC website, lacrpc.com, and the city website, cityhall.lima.oh.us. The community will have time (once posted) to leave feedback until September.
