Photo (left to right): City of Paducah Planner III Josh Fowler-Sommer and McCracken County Planning and Zoning Administrator Greg Cannon are holding the Outstanding Plan Award for the joint Comprehensive Plan.
The City of Paducah, McCracken County, and Kendig Keast Collaborative were honored to receive the Special Merit Award for Outstanding Plan for the joint Comprehensive Plan at the American Planning Association (APA) Kentucky Chapter’s annual meeting held last week in Lexington, Kentucky.
“Our community should be proud of this award,” said Paducah Mayor George Bray. “The joint Comprehensive Plan was adopted by both our City and County governments earlier this year with the purpose of guiding area development, redevelopment, and enhancement efforts over the next 10 to 20 years. Significant local feedback through public forums and a survey provided input for the plan’s development. This recognition is an honor, and it points to the importance of a partnership between the City and County and the goal in creating the best plan to serve all of McCracken County in terms of population, land use, housing, transportation, economy, and more.”
In February 2023, the City of Paducah and McCracken County approved a 20-year interlocal cooperation agreement to establish a City/County Comprehensive Plan. Before this current plan, each government agency had its own comprehensive plan. Planning consultant, Kendig Keast Collaborative, assisted in the plan’s creation.
Also at the APA Kentucky Annual Meeting, Planner III Josh Fowler-Sommer and Planner II Palmer Stroup with the Paducah Planning Department led a session for attendees. The session focused on Paducah’s neighborhood revitalization over the past 25 years including the acclaimed success in the Lowertown and Fountain Avenue neighborhoods along with the new focus area, the Southside.
Director of Planning Carol Gault said, “I am incredibly proud of the team of professionals in the Planning Department. This is one of the smallest departments operating in Paducah’s city government, but we are passionate about the community we serve and love sharing the story of how we are working with neighborhoods to gather input and provide incentives to spark neighborhood revitalization. The Southside Revitalization Plan is an enormous undertaking, but this is important work that will provide benefits for decades to come.”
To learn more about the Southside and read the Southside Revitalization Plan, visit Southside.
###
