I-65 plan ready

By Staff
The public will get its first look at the long-awaited I-65 corridor plan at a meeting planned for May 30.
The final version of the plan – designed to guide development along the interstate from Priceville to Falkville – will be presented at Hartselle's Sparkman Civic Center on May 30 at 7 p.m.
Commissioned more than a year ago, the plan makes suggestions for land use along a mile-wide interstate corridor.
Members of the I-65 Development Committee accepted the final version of the plan developed by RM Plan Group Monday afternoon.
Some of the elements of the plan are:
The plan calls for mostly residential land use on the east side of I-65. Suggested land use on the west side of I-65 range from primarily commercial in the Priceville area, transitioning to mixed used between Priceville and Hartselle. Between Hartselle and Falkville the plan calls for a transition from mixed commercial to light industrial.
The group moved quickly to get copies of the plan into the hands of supporters, who footed its $68,000 bill.
After the May meeting, the plan will be presented at the city council meetings in Falkville, Priceville and Hartselle.
Preventing the plan from ending up unused on a shelf was a main concern of the group.
The committee agreed to print 100 copies of the plan and distribute to state and national legislative delegations, banks, chambers of commerce, the media and department of transportation among others.
Copies of the plan will also be placed at libraries in the three communities, municipal offices, the group decided.
Personal copies of the document will be available from the group on disk or paper for $15.
Committee member Bob Francis called the completion of the plan phase one of the I-65 development committee's mission.
Phase two will be the education of the public, especially landowners in the corridor, of the benefits that can be gained by using the plan as a guide for future development.
The third phase, according to Francis, will be the actual implementation of the plan for the benefit of the region.
"We have a unique opportunity in the region from Priceville to Falkville to do something that to my knowledge has not been done anywhere else on I-65," Francis said.