Jackson County launches 20-year vision plan
By Jaden Hawkins | Published: Feb. 11, 2026 at 7:48 PM EST
JACKSON, Mich. (WILX) - Community leaders have officially launched a 20-year vision plan for Jackson County called “Drive Jackson,” aimed at making the county a better place to live, work and play.
The Jackson County Chamber of Commerce initiated the plan but has partnered with various organizations, private investors, and residents to bring it to life. More than 1,300 residents weighed in on the plan, providing nearly 6,000 comments to aid the main goals of the initiative.
Jackson residents say parking is a primary concern downtown.
“Parking is not desirable,” said Bonnie Rowley, a Jackson Resident.
“The parking, I think it’s always been an issue,” said Lilly Hayworth, a Jackson resident.
But residents also want to see broader changes to create a more vibrant community in the decades ahead, including more retail options and increased support for small businesses.
“We also need to be able to come down here and make money, but also live a normal life, not just have to live paycheck to paycheck,” Hayworth said.
“I think the spiritual climate of the community is important. I think from that all those other things can grow,” said David Goolsby, a Jackson resident.
Drive Jackson’s 20-year vision plan focuses on four key areas: quality of life, education, healthy community and the economy, including housing.
Ryan Tarrant, president and CEO of Jackson County Chamber of Commerce, helped create the plan. He said the city had lost about 40% of its population over the last 60 years.
“We started over a year ago with sort of a problem statement that affects a lot of communities in the state of Michigan and around the Midwest, which is a shrinking population,” said Tarrant. “Over the last decade, Jackson County has started to stagnate, even shrink a little bit. And so, we...wanted to create something that could provide us the strategies to prosper as a community, to be able to recruit and retain talent, our young people.”
Hayworth, who represents the younger generation of Jackson residents, said the city is coming back to life, and it’s encouraging to see investment in her community.
“When I was in high school, I wanted to move out of here because there were no opportunities here, and I feel like it was not thriving,” Hayworth said. “And now I feel like people are starting to see it and care about Jackson.”
“Let’s not just make this a dream, let’s make this go through because we want Jackson to thrive and build, and we want people to come, and the people that stay here, we want them to live here,” Hayworth said.
Drive Jackson also announced the members of its Vision Council. The cross-sector council will guide the plan through the years, monitoring progress, keeping partners accountable, and creating a smooth transition through leadership changes in local government.
The full strategic plan is available on Drive Jackson’s website.
Source: WILX 10
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Original story: https://www.wilx.com/2026/02/12/jackson-county-launches-20-year-vision-plan/
