The Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee has officially convened. This group of community members will meet regularly throughout the process to share insight, brainstorm ideas, and provide feedback on draft materials. These residents were selected by city staff to represent an array of focus groups in Norcross, including non-profit and civic leaders, business owners, and neighborhoods.
Identifying Key Issues & Opportunities
The Key issues and opportunities pointed out by the steering committee were consistent with the comments from the stakeholder interviews. Here are some that stick out:
Maintaining a sense of community and small-town feel with strategic planning.
Technology is a valuable tool and Norcross could benefit from Smart City strategies.
Housing should be available to all residents and newcomers with unique public amenities such as parks and things for people of all ages to do.
Members of the committee would like to see the community unite geographically and among different cultural backgrounds.
We want to address transportation, increase walkability and pedestrian infrastructure beyond Downtown, implement trails and greenways, and the expand transit to increase local and regional connectivity and attract commerce.
We want to attract younger families and to invest in our schools.
Improve quality of life through sustainable practices.
Here’s what the committee identified as Norcross’s biggest strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats:
Strengths
Sense of community
Diversity
Good location
Historic character
Small-town feel
Unique downtown
Affordability
STEM high school
Quality
Leadership (Approachable)
Job/Housing Balance
Walkable
Family-oriented
Loyalty
Inclusive
Public safety
Power
Schools
Parks
Community events
New development
Destination
Easy to get involved
Platinum Level Green community
Weaknesses
Lack of restaurants
Loss of institutional knowledge
Low pay
Cultural Underrepresentation
Bilingual communication
Too much involvement/opportunity
Planning fatigue
Function of the “Progressive Development Committee” or PDC
Divided City
Technology is underutilized
School rankings
Roads
Pedestrian Infrastructure
Connectivity
Traffic/Congestion
Lack of opportunity for Kids and Teens
Transient Population
Lack of Grocery store near city center
Opportunities
Film industry
Mass transit (rail), connectivity
Wedding industry, special events
Hotel/motel tax
Rideshare
Waze partnership
Traffic (potential commuter market)
Dedicated grant writer
New Development (Catalyst for more development)
Cultural arts center
Affordable Technology Innovation
Smart City
Tourism/Hospitality
Housing Opportunities with ADUs and BNBs
New locations for events
Regional connection of greenways
Cooperation with neighboring cities
Threats
Perception
Lack of Senior Housing
Lack of affordable housing
High taxes
Other cities annexing and expanding
Competition with Peachtree Corners
Transient population
Loss of jobs
Traffic
Lack of mass transit
Competition from neighboring cities
Loss of tree canopy
