Planning Commission

The Planning Commission is charged with helping to develop a comprehensive long-range plan for the uniform development of the City and to work with the City Government to insure that the City is working within the guidelines of the Comprehensive Plan while pursuing the long-term goals and objectives of the plan, and that all changes to the physical and environmental composition of the City meet or exceed standards stated therein.

The Laurel City Council adopted, during 2014, the current Comprehensive Plan which projects the City’s development thru 2034 and includes, but is not limited to, the following areas:
The development of a street system, including major street plans, parkways and boulevards, express highways, traffic flow, control and safety, truck routes, viaducts, underpasses and bridges, parking (on and off street) and illumination.
• Traffic, encompassing major street plans, traffic flow (control and safety), parking (on and off-street), and illumination
• Housing
• Parks and recreation, including the development of parks, neighborhood playgrounds, and recreational programs
• Cultural and public buildings
• Long-range water supply and water storage
• Sewage disposal
• Sewer system, expansion and development
• Extensions of corporate boundaries of the City
• Finance, including orderly fiscal control of both short-range and long-range development in light of the financial structure of the City
• Zoning problems, including zoning maps and Ordinances, changes and use permits
• Regulations governing the subdivision of land

The Planning Commission consists of eleven (11) voting members, who are appointed by the Mayor and serve in an advisory capacity without pay in addition to five (5) ex-officio members, also appointed by the Mayor from each of the following entities: Laurel Main Street, The Economic Development Authority of Jones County, the Laurel Municipal Separate School District, the Historic Preservation Commission, and the Zoning and Planning Department of the City. All members are appointed for terms of five (5) years and are eligible for appointment to successive subsequent terms at the pleasure of the Mayor. The Planning Commission meets on the second Thursday of each month at 4:30PM.