Statesboro City Council approves 5-year strategic plan for major development

STATESBORO, Ga. (WTOC) - Major new development and infrastructure will be coming to Statesboro over the next five years, and it’s all laid out in a new plan.

More affordable housing options, city parks, and revitalization to the downtown of Statesboro area were all laid out and explained on a strategic plan that will roll out over the next five years.

Statesboro City Council unanimously voted to approve the 2025 to 2030 strategic plan for the city on Tuesday.

The lengthy plan notes different weaknesses in the city and outlines how they’ll be addressed.

These include things like failing infrastructure with drainage and waterways. Public utilities, creating more long-range transportation, more public parks, and new buildings downtown.

Planning and Development Director Justin Williams says the biggest area of improvement will be affordable housing.

“We are going to build some more affordable housing here next year. But there are other opportunities that are outlined in the plan that gives us the opportunity to do some new regulations that will be beneficial and really get the bones on that animal to get things moving forward,” said Planning and Development Director, Justin Williams.

On the list, it says city leaders will look at how to restrict short term rentals in the city, work on gaining more federal grants, crackdown on compliance rules for HOA’s, and continue to convert older and rundown homes into livable ones with grant funding.

“We do have a lot of housing construction hear in Statesboro, but a lot of those concerns are that they are still not affordable so it’s an opportunity for us to look at ways we can help bridge the gap,” said Williams.

Williams says that residents’ input and ideas over the past few months has helped get a lot of the projects in the plan.

“And they just fell like they just aren’t heard and it’s an opportunity for us to get it in a document to say you are heard, and we are going to do it,” said Williams.