Steering Committee in Action

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