For the first time in more than a decade, a new zoning map has been drawn, reflecting parcel lines and zones in and around Vicksburg, City Planning Director Wayne Mansfield told the Board of Mayor and Alderman Thursday.

Until now, the city has relied on two zoning maps, one that hung in the city clerk’s office and another in the city’s inspection department. Mansfield said the older maps had been drawn in crayon and permanent marker. The most recent was completed in 1993 after the city’s annexation in 1990, Mansfield said. The new map does not reflect any zoning changes since then, he added.

&#8220We just made it digital,” he said. &#8220We made it easier to use. It’s more user-friendly.”

The map, designed by Kelly McCaffrey in the city’s community planning department, was digitally enhanced to show parcels, which Mansfield said the previous maps didn’t do.

The map comes as a preliminary step in the development of the city’s comprehensive plan, with which the planning department is charged. The plan, which will act as an update to the city’s 1996 comprehensive plan, has been in the works for at least two years, Mansfield said. A completion date has not been announced.

Mayor Laurence Leyens said he hopes the new map will be able to help community members see projected growth areas, in addition to being an &#8220empowerment tool” for economic developers.

Mansfield told the board that the goal is to have a version of the map on the city’s Web site, where people can click on a certain parcel and retrieve data about that area. Currently, the planning department is working with county officials on a GIS, or Geographic Information Systems, that can provide associated data to each parcel.

&#8220It’s a powerful tool. You can click on a parcel, and it can give you any information. There are thousands of items of interest,” he said. &#8220We’re eventually getting there.”

The mayor has been pushing Mansfield and McCaffrey to update the comprehensive plan, which will be an umbrella document used to develop specific regulations and plans for the city, which would include those for zoning, subdivisions and capital improvements. Such plans are designed to look ahead 15 to 20 years and to address topics including land-use, transportation and community facilities. Mansfield said plans of this magnitude are usually outsourced for development, but Vicksburg’s will be done in-house.