Plans, Studies & Policies

The Planning and Developemtn Department facilitates the conservation, stabilization, and growth of Manhattan through a series of processes, including community engagement, research, and crafting policy to produce recommendations and visions via plans, studies, and policy recommendations.

The Comprehensive Plan

The Manhattan Urban Area Comprehensive Plan (Comp Plan) is a long-range, community-informed, and joint agency guide for the growth and development of the region. This comprehensive document outlines a shared vision, collective goals, and a framework for informed policy decisions, land use, and infrastructure development. With its broad responsibility, the Comp Plan becomes one of the governing instruments for agencies. More specifically, within the Community Development Department, the document outlines the processes employed and the end products delivered, including plans and studies for specific geographic areas and recommendations for policies on various community topics.

The Manhattan Urban Area Planning Board and the Riley County Planning Board adopted the Comprehensive Plan on March 2, 2015, following a joint public hearing, and the Pottawatomie County Planning Commission adopted it following a public hearing on March 3, 2015. On March 23, 2015, the Pottawatomie and Riley County commissions adopted the plan. The Manhattan City Commission approved first reading of the plan on March 24, 2015, and second reading on April 7, 2015, by adoption of Ordinance Number 7131. Subsequent amendments have been made and were also adopted by ordinance (see list in plan document).

Plans

The Planning and Development Department leads or participates in planning processes for study areas that aren't an entire region or the city. These spaces could include districts, neighborhoods, or corridors. These documents examine a study area through a variety of community development lenses, including preservation, housing, transportation, commerce, land use, etc.

The following projects are planning processes started or in progress.

The completed plans below link to the adopted document presently guiding the development and/or policies for the specific area or topic.

Studies

Studies are efforts to examine usually one aspect of community development within a defined area. The process and conclusions of a study many times inform a larger planning effort or policies.

Policies