A comprehensive plan is a planning document used by Pennington County to guide land use and resource management decisions. The Comprehensive Plan covers a range of topics, such as land use, housing, economic development, infrastructure, transportation, recreation and much more.

A comprehensive plan has three defining features:

• General. A comprehensive plan provides general guidance that will be used to direct future land use and resource decisions.
• Comprehensive. As the name implies, a comprehensive plan covers a wide range of social, economic, infrastructure, and natural resource topics.
• Long-Range. A comprehensive plan provides guidance on reaching a future envisioned 20 or more years in the future. To achieve the vision, a comprehensive plan includes goals, policies, and actions that address both immediate and long-term needs.

Pennington County has initiated an update to its Comprehensive Plan focusing on correcting inconsistencies and redundancies, as well as restructuring for ease of use. This is an opportunity for Pennington County to move forward into the future with growth and vision.

In addition to updating the County's Comprehensive Plan, the County's planning consultant will also be reviewing and providing recommendations for updates to the following:

• Zoning Ordinance
• Subdivision Regulations
• Nuisance Ordinance #106
• Floodplain Ordinance

The Comprehensive Plan and the documents listed above are no longer providing the direction necessary to carry Pennington County into the future. With an increase in population and other changes in the County, the expectations of residents are changing and our documents need to be in harmony to reflect the desires of the citizens and the plans of the elected officials.

Task 1 – Project Management

Task 1 lays the foundation for the planning process by refining the specifics of the project, including the project schedule, project logo and website. This task also includes on-going project management activities.

Task 2 – Public Participation and Communication

This task cover the setup of the public participation process, including the setup for the first set of public workshops and development of Informational Brochure #1, Comprehensive Plan Overview.

Task 3 – Community Assessment

During this task, data collection to support development of the Plan is conducted.

Public engagement is also integral to the success of the Pennington County Comprehensive Plan Update. During this task, the first set of public workshops will also be held and interviews with community leaders and stakeholders will be conducted. These activities will focus on identifying opportunities and challenges to be addressed by the Comprehensive Plan Update.

Task 4 – Framework Document

The consultant will work with County staff to review a range of document formatting possibilities, including examples of documents from other counties, and develop a document outline and format for the Plan that suits the desires and needs of the County.

Task 5 – Development of Draft Strategies, Policies, and Implementation Plan

During this task, the consultant will work with County staff and stakeholders to prepare, evaluate and ultimately define a preferred policy and land use alternative that will be the basis of the Comprehensive Plan Update. This task involves developing alternative scenarios and evaluating the implications of each alternative. Each alternative is also evaluated based on responsiveness to the key issues, opportunities and vision statement identified earlier.

Task 6 – Plan Document Development

As a result of the extensive work resulting from the technical studies, visioning and alternatives planning in previous tasks, the consultant, working with County staff, will prepare draft Comprehensive Plan for public review and comment.

Task 7 – Formal Adoption Process

During this task, the public, County Planning Commission and Board of Commissioners will review the Draft Comprehensive Plan, culminating in final adoption. A series of public hearings will be held concerning the draft Plan. Following review and comments, the consultant will prepare the final draft version of the Comprehensive Plan for final review and action by the Planning Commission (recommendation to the Board) and County Board of Commissioners (final approval).