The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners on February 5, 2019, approved the final draft of the 2040 Unified Plan following a favorable review by the state Department of Community Affairs and the Atlanta Regional Commission. The 2040 Unified Plan, also known as a comprehensive plan, contains analysis, maps and policies to help guide progress and development countywide on multiple fronts through 2040. It was crafted after months of public input from stakeholder meetings, open house information sessions across the county, intercept interviews at parks and surveys.

“The Unified Plan provides a blueprint for the County’s growth and development over the next two decades. Input from residents and other stakeholders was balanced with technical analysis by the experts of demographic information and other data to create a vision of a preferred future for the County,” said Board of Commissioners Commission Chairman Charlotte Nash. “It anticipates future needs and establishes our short-term and long-term goals. The 2040 Unified Plan also ties several other plans into a single, coordinated vision so that everyone is on the same page and moving in the same direction.”

Other plans are incorporated into the Unified Plan, including the County’s recently approved Comprehensive Transportation Plan, Connect Gwinnett: Transit Plan, Countywide Trails Master Plan and water and sewer plans.

The Unified Plan addresses community goals, needs and opportunities, housing, transportation, economic development and land use and establishes a community work program.

Developed by consulting firm Pond & Co., the plan traces Gwinnett’s history, covers the results from public input sessions, incorporates demographic trends, and inventories the county’s infrastructure, community amenities, land use and built environment. It establishes a vision taking into account the County’s needs and opportunities and incorporates five themes: Maintain Economic Development and Fiscal Health, Foster Redevelopment, Maintain Mobility and Accessibility, Provide More Housing Choices, and Keep Gwinnett a Preferred Place.

Future development possibilities are laid out, identifying higher density areas, more pastoral areas and those in between. The plan enumerates possible activity centers, employment centers, residential neighborhoods and low-intensity areas. A future land use map shows recommended development patterns in detail.

The plan is an update to the 2030 Unified Plan. It is required by law and necessary for certain state and federal grants. Read the 2040 Unified Plan summary (PDF).

A series of short videos summarizes the plan (PDF), including a brief history of Gwinnett County, where we are, how we got here, and where we’re going.

The Short Term Work Program is a list of proposed projects and initiatives to be considered and possibly undertaken from 2019 to 2023. The Report of Accomplishments is a list of projects that have been completed. It is updated every five years. 

Appendix E: The Report of Accomplishments  and the Short Term Work Program

• Acknowledgements and Table of Contents
• Chapter 1 - Overview Document
• Chapter 2 - Trends Document
• Chapter 3 - Our Vision Document
• Chapter 4 - Plan Document
• Chapter 5 - Implementation
• Appendix A - Focus Groups
• Appendix B - Community Engagement
• Appendix C - Sphere of Influence Map
• Appendix D - Cost of Services Study
• Appendix E - Report of Accomplishments and Short Term Work Program