The Mandeville government is now accepting proposals from qualified consultants to help update the city’s 16-year-old comprehensive master plan.
The current plan, which was completed in 2007, has been at the center of several major land use controversies, including proposals to develop large projects along the Mandeville lakefront.
Mandeville officials have said development of a new comprehensive plan will be one of the most important actions the city will undertake in the coming years. The life span of a typical municipal comprehensive plan is 10 to 15 years.
“Comprehensive plans are dynamic guides that reflect a community’s vision of its future,” Mayor Clay Madden said in a statement. The new plan will “provide goals and policies to address future land use, growth, economic development, natural resources, and public facilities.”
The current plan came under scrutiny several years ago as the city contemplated Port Marigny, a proposal to develop a former industrial site into a 78-acre residential-commercial development on the city's lakefront.
Last year, the city once again grappled with a divisive land use issue as the highly controversial Sucette Harbor lakefront development made its way through the Mandeville regulatory process.
The City Council ultimately shot down both proposals. Both cases resulted in legal action against the city and some city officials.
“The Sucette and Port Marigny debates were passionate and lengthy,” Madden said. “However, these debates brought forward many thoughts and issues that may not have been considered when the 2007 comprehensive plan was adopted.”
Consultants interested in submitting proposals to work on the new plan have until Feb. 5 to do so. The entire process of redoing the plan will likely take about two years, Madden said.
The city has budgeted $100,000 in the 2023-24 fiscal year to pay for the new plan.
Although a consultant will be employed to direct the project, officials said it will be heavily driven by citizen and stakeholder participation. The city has vowed to engage with a diverse group of citizens from across Mandeville to help formulate the plan.
“The updated plan will serve as a road map to guide decision-making for land use, transportation, economic development, infrastructure, environmental conservation, and community well-being,” Madden said.