On Thursday, a key committee will convene for the first time to begin helping guide the update of Milton’s Comprehensive Plan – a deep, living, community-driven document that helps guide decisions, projects, and policies over the coming years.

The February 5 Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee meeting will start at 4 p.m. in City Hall’s Council Chambers. Anyone can attend in-person or watch online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZE6_BFdTQLQ.

The 5-Year update is not a complete renewal, but rather a mid-point check on progress and an opportunity to confirm that implementation efforts remain aligned with the vision established through the original Comprehensive Plan process and related public input.

Five years ago, Milton did a full-scale rewrite to create its 2040 Comprehensive Plan – including a thorough assessment of existing conditions, chronicling of several public engagement opportunities, as well as outlining the community’s vision and priorities. This document can be found HERE: https://www.miltonga.gov/home/showdocument?id=5494. The 2026 Comprehensive Plan Update is more limited in scope, building off that previous plan with changes and additions focused on:

• Incorporating aspects of other plans and studies adopted by the City over the past 5 years
• Updating economic and demographic data, and
• Creating a new priority list of projects (a.k.a. a “short-term work program”)

This year’s process kicked off with a presentation at a January 21 City Council meeting (which you can view here, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kuwWy0pu76Q, beginning at the 14:30 mark). This Thursday is when City staff and citizens – represented by those on the Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee – will begin digging into the meat of this document and what makes sense for the next iteration. 

This will be the first of five planned public meetings for this 16-member board, which is often referred to as CPAC and consists of all seven Planning Commission members, seven people appointed by the Mayor and City Councilmembers, the Design Review Board chair, and the Board of Zoning Appeals chair. 

The goal is for a draft 2026 Comprehensive Plan Update to be completed by early August and submitted to State authorities for approval. The Georgia Planning Act requires cities and counties to maintain comprehensive plans; moreover, the State regulates the process and must review (and approve) every draft document. Milton’s final, State-approved 2026 Comprehensive Plan Update must be adopted by the City Council in October. 

To learn about this Comprehensive Plan process – including to see a timeline of scheduled meetings, helpful questions-and-answers, and a list of already-approved supporting plans – visit www.miltonga.gov/2026CompPlanUpdate. Those with questions can contact the City of Milton’s Principal Planner Shubha Jangam at shubhangi.jangam@miltonga.gov.