The first of what will be several public meetings focusing on the city of Warsaw’s comprehensive plan was held in city council chambers Wednesday. Common council members, the Warsaw Planning Commission, city planners and the mayor sat down in a work session to begin fine-tuning the 74-page draft.

Referred to as the “road map for future growth in Warsaw,” the comprehensive plan is a detailed look at projects and programs involving commercial, residential and transportation that city leaders now and in the future will refer to. Its purpose is to bring uniformity to the community and provide the best uses for property as time and even technology progresses.

Warsaw’s last comprehensive plan was completed in 1998.

During the work session, Bradley Johnson of Ground Rules, the company contracted for $50,750 to complete the city’s comprehensive plan, asked for input on the detailed plan he compiled over the last 10 months. While very minor additions were made to the Community Profile section of the report, the discussion never moved past page 15, which city planner Jeremy Skinner referred to as “the foundation of the plan.”

Part 2 of the comprehensive plan is Essence. “It’s a realistic idea of how we’re going to use this; almost like a visionary charrette,” said mayor Joe Thallemer.

The plan has 5 principles it follows:

• 1) Manage community growth and form
• 2) Foster effective and safe transportation
• 3) Stimulate economic growth
• 4) Nurture environmental quality
• 5) Inspire community character

Those principles have been detailed in the Essence section of the plan and uniformly call for “compact form.” As society continues to change and people look for more “walkability” and “livability” standards, the city must also consider how to achieve those things.

Thallemer explained, “It’s like a shift from the norm … utilizing what you have, not spreading out … that flies completely in the face of urbanization. Walkability and livability, that takes change in my mind to accept that.”

Among the ideas addressed in the comprehensive plan is to encourage more residential and hospitality services downtown, and encourage offices and businesses without walk-in services to utilize upper floor spaces in certain areas.

The plan also looks at discouraging further industrial uses along the North Detroit Street (SR 15) corridor south of U.S. 30 to the downtown area and encourages reutilization of areas that capture that viewshed of Center Lake.

Nothing in the plan calls for forcing out existing businesses or encouraging any business to relocate. The comprehensive plan is only a road map for city planners and leaders to follow as growth and development and even changes in technology continues into the future.

The plan will again be discussed in an open work session at 4:30 p.m. Monday, March 10, prior to the regular meeting of the Warsaw Planning Commission. The session is open to the public and will be in the city hall council chambers.