Comprehensive Planning Committee

Committee Membership

• The Comprehensive Planning Committee shall be composed of seven members, with at least one representative from each of the five wards. Two members shall be considered At Large members.

General Duties:

The duties of the Comprehensive Planning Committee include:

1. Monitoring the implementation of the policies contained in the comprehensive plan and advising the Planning Board and City Council as to consistency with the comprehensive plan when land use ordinances or amendments are being considered.
2. Following a work plan mutually agreed upon or as directed by the City Council, and making recommendations to the City Council for changes to the comprehensive plan.
3. Evaluating the merits of citizens' requests for changes to the comprehensive plan.
4. Soliciting public views of preferred future development of the City, as it pertains to the comprehensive plan.
5. Maintaining liaison with planning bodies in neighboring towns and with the state planning office and ensuring that the City's comprehensive plan is consistent with state requirements.
6. Analyzing newly available data (e.g., census data) on population and property trends and advising the Council as to any changes in the comprehensive plan that the new data warrants.
7. Reviewing the comprehensive plan to prepare recommendations to remove language or sections that are overly specific that should be contained in the implementation ordinances only, recognizing that the comprehensive plan is a policy document and that ordinances are the implementation of those policies. Duplication and redundancy should be eliminated.

Project Overview:

The City of Belfast is updating their Comprehensive Plan! The City of Belfast Comprehensive Plan update consists of two Phases:

Phase 1: The Comprehensive Planning Committee began their work in 2019 by updating the previously drafted 2012 Plan to bring the plan up-to-date with recent data. This work also included revising the plan to be consistent with the State Growth Management Act. In June 2021, the updated Comprehensive Plan was adopted and approved by the State. See the full plan linked here.

Phase 2: In addition to updating the 2012 Comprehensive Plan, the Committee has been tasked to complete a full Comprehensive Plan update, which includes an updated vision for the City and an updated Future Land Use plan. The Committee is currently underway with this second phase of the project.

Approximate Project Timeline:

Spring 2021
 Community Survey and Stakeholder Engagement

Summer 2021
 Update and Organize Inventory Chapters

Fall 2021 – Summer 2022
 Update and Organize Inventory Chapters
 Plan Drafting, City Department & Committee Outreach

Summer 2022 
 Community Outreach and Visioning
 Future Land Use Planning

Late Fall 2022
Plan 1^st Draft Release
 Community Outreach

How to Get Involved:

Email questions to compplan@cityofbelfast.org
 Check back here to find out more about upcoming opportunities for public participation.

Committee Meetings:

The Comprehensive Planning Committee currently meets the fourth Wednesday of every month at 4:30. The Committee met on Zoom throughout the pandemic but will likely resume meeting in person.

Contact compplan@cityofbelfast.org for information on how to attend the meeting.