States, cities & tribes
comprehensive plan
A locality's long-range blueprint for growth, land use, transportation, and infrastructure. Zoning is supposed to implement it.
In full
Also called a general or master plan, it is adopted after public workshops and hearings and typically looks out ten to twenty years. In some states zoning must be consistent with the plan, making it legally binding; in others it is advisory. Either way it is the document that reveals what a local government intends before the rezonings arrive.
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A plain-language explanation for civic education, not legal advice. When in doubt, the official source named above controls.