Shape growth before it shapes us: Our beautiful city (seen here from Tannery Knob) is growing… but we must shape that growth proactively, not reactively!
Johnson City has already done the work of imagining its future. Horizon 2045, the Future Land Use Map, and our community’s vision plan should actively guide what we build, where we build it, and how our neighborhoods grow. The Commission should lead that work proactively instead of waiting for the next rezoning or development controversy.
What I’ll push for:
- Turn Horizon 2045 into an action plan, with priorities, timelines, responsible departments, and regular public updates on implementation.
- Use the community-approved Future Land Use Map (FLUM) to guide zoning, infrastructure, transportation, housing, and development decisions toward the future residents said they want.
- Continue and strengthen JC Builds to reduce unnecessary administrative friction and make it easier for responsible developers and builders to invest in Johnson City.
- Create the resident-side equivalent of JC Builds to make City Hall easier to navigate for homeowners, renters, neighborhood groups, and residents seeking to solve problems or improve their communities.
- Grow without paving over what makes JC special by protecting mature trees and green space, reducing unnecessary surface parking, and encouraging smarter use of already-developed land.
- Work proactively with neighborhoods before major changes arrive, using community meetings, neighborhood conversations, and town halls to translate Horizon 2045’s citywide vision into plans for individual parts of Johnson City.
- Align public investment with our growth strategy, so decisions about roads, sidewalks, transit, parks, utilities, and other infrastructure help build the city envisioned in Horizon 2045.
Good planning should provide more certainty for everyone: developers should understand where and how Johnson City wants to grow, and residents should understand what the future of their neighborhoods could look like. Let’s build the Johnson City we planned for, instead of reacting one project at a time.
