The Comprehensive Plan is a long-range, community-designed growth strategy that will continue to make Cobb County an attractive place to invest, conduct business, and raise a family. The current plan, adopted in 2017 with subsequent annual amendments, covers the time period between 2017 and 2040.

• Appendix 1: Community Profile (Background Report)
• Appendix 2: Community Engagement
• Appendix 3: Community Work Program
• Appendix 4: Small Area Policy Guidelines
• Appendix 5: Report of Accomplishments
• Appendix 6: Supplemental Plan Synopsis
• Appendix 7: Cobb Survey Report
• Appendix 8: Regional Water Plan & Environmental Criteria

View the Cobb 2040 Comprehensive Plan Memo to the Board of Commissioners showing the edits made from the last draft.

Please note: some files may take longer to download due to size and download speed

The Planning Commission and Board of Commissioners must approve amendments to the Comprehensive Plan text or the Future Land Use Map. In order to allow for timely, small-scale changes to the plan text and Future Land Use Map, an annual plan amendment process has been established.

The annual amendment process runs October to January. During this time, staff members study proposed changes to the text and land use map that have arisen throughout the year. The changes may be the result of direction from the Board of Commissioners due to a rezoning action, approval of a study or master plan, and/or suggestions from the Planning Commission, residents, business community, or staff. Any site which was not previously posted for a rezoning, land use permit, special land use permit, or study/master plan hearing is posted to notify the public of the proposed Comprehensive Plan amendments. The posting consists of general area notifications that alert the public about policy changes in the affected area. Additionally, letters are mailed to property owners informing them of the impending changes to the Comprehensive Plan. The amendment package is posted online for public review.

The process concludes with public hearings with the Planning Commission and the Board of Commissioners , respectively. These hearings serve as a forum to gather community input regarding the impending Comprehensive Plan amendments and for the Planning Commission and the Board to vote on adoption of the amendments.

The voting process is described as follows:

1. After site visits and analysis, staff briefs the Planning Commission and Board of Commissioners, respectively, on the facts surrounding each proposed amendment.
2. The Planning Commission, serving in its official role as a recommending body to the Board, makes its recommendations by way of a vote.
3. The Board is briefed on the facts of each proposed amendment, and is informed of the recommendation from the Planning Commission. Subsequently, the Board of Commissioners accepts , rejects, or modifies the recommendation. This vote is the final action that confirms the amendments to the Comprehensive Plan.

View the 2017 Comp Plan Amendments

C.P. 2-7, revised

View the 2018 Comp Plan Amendments

View the 2019 Comp Plan Amendments, final - up for approval by BOC on January 15, 2019

The Comprehensive Plan update results in a new Comprehensive Plan that guides the county out to 2040. The revised plan will address Cobb’s vision, policies, and goals based on the existing plan and community involvement. A new community work program will be established with short and long-term implementation items. Cobb County Community Development will be the lead agency for carrying out a successful 2040 Comprehensive Plan update by working with numerous public, private, and nonprofit partners. Community Development staff will facilitate a wide variety of community involvement opportunities including Steering Committee meetings, informative and interactive public meetings, workshops, surveys, interviews, social media, and online feedback.

Starting early in the process and continuing throughout the development of the plan is a series of Steering Committee meetings. The Steering Committee meetings  include comprehensive plan education, exercises designed to gather input, a review of presentation materials for upcoming community meetings and discussions regarding feedback from prior community meetings.   A critical part of the comprehensive plan development will be the involvement of the general public. Community involvement will be the foundation of the 2040 Comprehensive Plan. The planning team will host approximately nine meetings throughout the county to interact with the community and to solicit thoughts, ideas, public support and trust. The participation techniques will revolve around public interaction, education, and input.

Civic engagement is a key component to any planning process. In order for community involvement to be successful, citizens must be encouraged to become active in the planning process. The plan will then reflect the community’s preferences and desires if the entire project team is able to gather input from a wide range of stakeholders with various interests. A public participation plan exists within the Cobb 2040 Plan Development document that describes the purpose and process of how the community can get involved in the update process.

In the fall of 2015, Community Development staff carried out four public meetings throughout Cobb County to educate the community about the 2040 Comprehensive Plan. The information gathered from the community meetings, along with existing conditions data, assisted in forming the needs and opportunities, which assisted in identifying key goals and policies.

To learn more, view the Presentation and SWOT Comments below.

Public Meeting Presentation

Public Meeting SWOT Comments

Public Survey

As part of the public participation phase of the 2040 Comprehensive Plan update, and in an effort to reach a larger segment of the population, Community Development engaged the services of the A.L. Burruss Institute of Public Services and Research at Kennesaw State University to conduct a phone survey of county residents. The objective of the survey was to obtain their opinions on a number of issues related to quality of life, public services, transportation issues and priorities, and future development patterns in the Cobb. The findings of the survey were analyzed and drafted into the needs of the county, and were analyzed to help develop Cobb's five year work program.

Community Survey Results