SPANISH FORT, Ala. — Despite criticisms from at least one local resident to the contrary, city planners are confident the proposed 15-year Comprehensive Plan clearly identifies the values that define Spanish Fort and incorporates citizen preferences in its development blueprint.

Commissioner Maura Dismuke said proof of the plan’s compatibility with community desires cannot possibly be gauged, however, until it’s implemented.

“The plan is only a vision of the kind of place we want and though it includes a lot of excellent ideas and goals as well as a general course of action, it does not provide step-by-step instructions on how to get there,” Dismuke said.

The plan, deemed a “living” document, is intended to steer controlled growth of a city expected to, at the very least, double in population by 2025. Copies of the 92-page plan are available at City Hall for on-site review at no charge or purchase for $23.

Nancy Milford, the only resident to speak Monday during the first of two public hearings on the plan, criticized what she feels has been a lack of community involvement in the plan’s drafting.

See the rest of this story in the Jan. 12 edition of The Bulletin.