(Lawrenceville, Ga., Nov. 26, 2019) – The Gwinnett County Department of Planning and Development’s peers have selected its 2040 Unified Plan as the best planning document in Georgia for 2019.

“The County’s 2040 Unified Plan casts a bold vision for the future, builds upon and continues the long-term vision for Gwinnett County, and identifies short-term, incremental steps that can be used to achieve the vision,” the Georgia Planning Association said in announcing the award.

The Georgia Planning Association noted that the Atlanta Regional Commission also said the Unified Plan was one of the best plans in Georgia.

Kathy Holland, director of the Gwinnett Department of Planning and Development, said she is honored to have the plan recognized by others in the field.

“It is especially meaningful that people who are experts in developing plans think the 2040 Unified Plan was the best in the state,” Holland said. “We believe it will serve as a thoughtful and deliberate guide for growth in Gwinnett for the next 20 years.”

The 2040 Unified Plan, also known as a comprehensive plan, contains analysis, maps and policies to help shape 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 plan anticipates future needs and establishes 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.

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. 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.

A series of short videos summarizing the plan, including a brief history of Gwinnett County, where we are, how we got here and where we’re going, can been seen at www.gwinnett2040unifiedplan.com.