A city’s comprehensive plan is important because it provides a plan for growth and development, but it is just as important to ensure the plan is updated every 10-15 years as the population grows and needs change.

That is the situation Wylie is in at the moment. The comprehensive plan was first developed in 2012 and since that time, a thoroughfare plan, parks master plan and downtown strategic plan have been developed as well.

The work began last August with the formation of the Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee, which has since met every month except December.

The committee was guided by consultants Daniel Harrison and Erica Craycraft of Freese and Nichols.

Harrison said the comprehensive plan is a vision for what the residents and staff want the city to look like in 10 to 20 years.

“As we develop, we have this policy guide to what Wylie wants to see itself develop into,” Harrison said. “Councilmembers, P&Z commissioners and city staff will look at this document and say this is what the residents of Wylie want to see.”

Harrison said the plan is a good basis to make decisions, but that the comprehensive plan is not the city’s zoning regulations.

“It doesn’t control the use of land,” Harrison said. “It just helps inform it. But it is not the actual law or governing authority.”

While the committee worked to develop goals and strategies to realize those goals, residents were also asked to provide feedback.

Two meetings were held Thursday, March 31, at 6 p.m. and 7 p.m. to request resident input on the plan’s goals and the future land use (FLU) map, which covers the entire city limits as well as some of the areas outside city limits should it be annexed into the city.

The map does not show current zoning, Harrison said, but it is used as a guide for zoning ordinances.

The plan is made up of six chapters, three of which concern housing, land use and transportation. The three chapters have a total of 14 goals and two to six strategies within each goal which will help realize the goal.

The full list of goals and strategies, as well as several presentations, can be found at envisionwylie.com.

Residents who were unable to attend the meeting still have the opportunity to provide input at envisionwylie.com until April 11.

The updates to the comprehensive plan are set to be finalized in May. There will two public hearings concerning the plan; the first at the Tuesday, July 5 Planning and Zoning Commission meeting and the second at the Tuesday, July 26 city council meeting, after which council will vote to approve the plan.