Planning helps to coordinate development projects with one another. In other words, making sure that adequate roads and utilities are in place before the new shopping center or subdivision or dairy farm are opened. Planning can educate, involve and inform the public as well as public officials. A soundly reasoned plan, especially one where there has been good public participation, can forestall opposition to implementing what might have been controversial policies or projects or constructing the wrong project. Another aspect of this is that a plan and participating in planning can reveal the potential for change and improvement to a community to those who had never thought of such things before.
Planning can be a real eye-opener.
Q. I never thought of it that way. A good plan can really help, but it sure is a lot of work. It's a good thing that we wouldn't have to do it again for 20 years or so. If you do planning right, once you start, you never stop. Even though the plan that you adopt may be called the plan for 1998-2018, you should continually monitor the situation and amend the plan.