FUTURE LAND USE

The future land use map is one of the primary outcomes of this comprehensive plan. It highlights the desired future land use patterns for the city and its surroundings. Much of the city is already developed, so the future land use map will match the existing land use in many places. This map is most important for providing direction for areas of the city where land uses are expected or desired to change over the next ten years and beyond.

It is worth noting that the future land use map is not the City’s zoning map, which is a legally-binding document with accompanying regulatory text. The future land use map, rather, provides City Council, boards, commissions, and staff with strong guidance when considering development proposals, annexation requests, rezonings, and infrastructure investments. Adoption of the plan and, therefore, the future land use map does not change existing zoning. Over time, however, the zoning code and map may be modified through development approvals and municipal actions as a means to implement the policy recommendations of this comprehensive plan. However, until any such amendments are adopted by way of changing the official zoning map or accompanying zoning code text, the future land use map does not directly affect how properties may be used according to legal entitlements.

The future land use map accounts for the existing land uses, while establishing a desired pattern of land uses and development types for the future of Oxford. The future land use map includes twelve Character Types ranging from preserves and green spaces to the urban core, to illustrate the mix of uses necessary to support Oxford’s diverse population and community needs. Each of these land use categories is summarized in more detail in the main plan document, with details about primary and secondary uses, access, physical connections, parking, and open space. These Character Type categories include:

• Preserves & Green Space

• Rural

• Suburban Neighborhood

• Transitional Suburban Neighborhood

• Traditional Neighborhood

• Urban Neighborhood

• Urban Core

• Mixed Use Center

• Employment Corridor

• Employment Center

• Campus

• Flex Industrial

The map also calls attention to several Focus Areas throughout the community. These are areas that warrant further examination and planning because they have a stronger chance of experiencing physical change over the next ten years and beyond. The land use categories proposed in these focus areas should therefore be interpreted more flexibly, as a desirable land use mix could be subject to change based on findings uncovered through additional district-level planning efforts.