Commissioners adopt updated Knox County Comprehensive Plan

MOUNT VERNON — A process that started 15 months ago reached fruition when the Knox County commissioners approved the updated Knox County Comprehensive Plan on Thursday.

In November 2023, the Regional Planning Commission voted to let the Knox County Area Development Foundation take the lead in updating the Together Knox plan.

The ADF solicited proposals from consultants, chose Planning NEXT, and created a steering committee.

Through the next 15 months, community members, stakeholders, and local officials held meetings and provided input. The RPC, City of Mount Vernon, and county commissioners had public hearings.

Commissioner Bill Pursel, president of the Knox County Board of Commissioners, said commissioners are pleased with the comprehensive plan.

“It is always a tedious process, which shows our diversity of opinion about what Knox County is and what it needs to be,” he said.

“The goal of receiving everyone’s opinion who wanted to be heard was accomplished.”

bill pursel, president of the knox county board of commissioners

Pursel noted that the comprehensive plan asked, “If change happens, how do we control and steer it?” 

“One only needs to go to the Knox County Museum to understand that Knox County has always been changing,” he said. “The comprehensive plan, knowing that change is inevitable, seeks to understand the pace of change that we rural Knox Countians will find as our comfort level.  Some want it faster, but most don’t want it at all.

“The plan has provided an excellent solid blueprint for those who will follow in our footsteps 25 years from now,” he added.

The city charts its path

Mount Vernon City Council adopted the plan on April 28. Mayor Matt Starr praised the effort.

“This is the most comprehensive of a comprehensive plan that I’ve seen come out of Knox County, and that is saying something,” he said at the April 28 council meeting.

He said the planning process forced community members to define rural character, a trait so many residents say they want to retain.

“There were dozens of definitions of what rural character meant, and this [plan] is a way of of documenting what that is,” he said. “It is not just farmland. It’s how we treat our neighbors. It’s how we do activities downtown, and what opportunities that we provide, and just providing that hometown feel.”

The comprehensive plan includes a section specific to the city. Starr said it provides enough information “to sink our teeth into for a long time.”

Community-driven comprehensive plan sets course for Knox County’s future

The Regional Planning Commission approved the comprehensive plan on March 20.

RPC Secretary Darrel Severns is happy the plan update work is complete, but said the vital plan implementation work has just begun.

“I am very proud of all who participated in this extensive project and want to thank the community for their interest and support throughout the development and adoption process,” he said.

“There are many initiatives that have been highlighted within the planning document, and various entities have been tapped to lead the study and implement these initiatives.”

Severns said a task force of representatives of the various lead entities will convene to organize and prioritize the initiatives. The task force will also serve as a clearinghouse for progress reporting.

“The Regional Planning Commission has begun to develop priorities among the initiatives assigned to the RPC,” he said. “A major initiative is to conduct an update to the County Land Subdivision Regulations, and we are in talks now with a planning consultant to assist in that project.”

Severns said he appreciates the detailed description and list Planning NEXT provided to help those tasked with implementation focus their efforts and spread the work without overwhelming any one entity.