Council will hold a public hearing on the document, which will help guide future growth in the city, on June 3 at 5:15 p.m.

Work on the plan started in July with a budget of $23,000, Planning and Development Director Kelly Lasky told the planning board this evening before it unanimously passed the document on to council. “That's one-third of what it would normally cost a city of this size.”

The city has been using a plan that was approved in 1989, Lasky said. “We've been using an outdated plan with the intention of it going to 2005.”

The plan focuses on community development as well as health and wellness to promote healthier lifestyles within the city. “The 1989 plan was generic,” Lasky said “The revised plan is more specific to guide the decision-making process. It's something we have to have for moving forward.”

Lasky explained the document is not a capital improvement project, but a set of recommendations to help guide the planning board and city council in its decision-making process. “It doesn't change zoning.”

The biggest change sets forth the mixed use concept within the entertainment district, allowing for a 60-40 split between commercial and residential. “It adds more variety,” she said.

Gregory Browning, chair of the planning board, said he was pleased with the work that went into crafting the document. “It's a road map for where we want to be at in the not so distant future.”

With a declining population in the city, he said the plan is crucial to help make Roanoke Rapids a closer community and one that is more family-oriented with the health and wellness aspect. “I think that's what can make us great as a community. We need to work to be a closer community.”

The plan remains open for public inspection until the June public hearing.