ROBERTSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — Springfield leaders are gathering public input for a comprehensive growth plan.

“We just stress that this is the community’s plan. This is not the city’s plan,” said Assistant City Manager Candice Tillman, MBA. “It really takes feedback from the residents, businesses, visitors to see what they want Springfield to look like.”

The city is already seeing growth and expects that to continue. According to the U.S. Census, Springfield’s population went from 16,440 in 2010 to 19,221 at the most recent update. City leaders are projecting a 10 year growth of 78%.

“Most importantly, people love the feel of Springfield, it just feels like home. I felt that way coming from a city not too far from here, it just feels like home,” said Tillman. “There are opportunities here, there are jobs, our parks and open space are top notch. There’s a lot of reasons why people come and it’s interesting to hear those reasons. So we’re excited.”

There have been 2,100 approved residential units with another 3,500 being proposed.

“Springfield is unique in that we’re a full service city. So the city of Springfield owns all of its utilities. So electric, water, wastewater, gas, all of that is housed in one place, it’s all the city of Springfield,” said Tillman. “So that makes it somewhat easier to go through the process of coming here and building or settling down, because it’s a kind of a one stop shop when we own all of those utilities.”

Springfield’s comprehensive growth plan will serve as a visionary document to drive policies and future city growth and investments. Tillman explained that this will be a living document and they’re looking 10 to 20 years into Springfield’s future. The city is working with a consulting and planning firm that’s hosting an open-house Tuesday to gather public comments. Topics will include land use development, economic strategies and transportation planning.

“Transportation is huge, making sure that people can have a decent commute and not have to fight traffic,” said Tillman. “We are already working towards that right now, basically creating a loop around Springfield, we’ve just kicked off our second phase of the Batson Parkway extension. So we’re already moving in that direction, anticipating this growth.”

Tuesday’s open house is from 5 to 7 p.m. at City Hall. There’s also an online survey open until Nov. 15.