Over the next 18 months, Allegheny County officials hope to enlist the help of 700,000 residents as the county develops its first comprehensive plan, a blueprint for future land use, officials announced yesterday.

The project, called Allegheny Places, will have a budget of $2.5 million to $3 million and an ambitious agenda of examining every possible use of county land -- transportation, education, housing, economic development, recreation, environmental quality, conservation, cultural amenities, and issues of equity and diversity.

"It's hitting all of the assets that we have," Allegheny County Chief Executive Dan Onorato told a group of municipal and county government officials at the Regional Enterprise Tower, Downtown.

"This is not just an analysis or a study that's going to be thrown on a shelf and not looked at again for another decade. This is something that we hope can be implemented within a 12- to 18-month period."

Allegheny County is one of the last of Pennsylvania's 67 counties to develop a comprehensive plan. Only Juniata County is further behind, said Leslie Suhr, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Community and Economic Development.

"Those counties with a plan are in a better position when they apply for funding," Suhr said. She noted that no county has ever lost funding because it did not have a plan.

Many municipalities in Allegheny County already have developed their own long-term guides for future land use, and the county's proposals will try to balance those guides already in use, said Lynn Heckman, assistant director for planning at the Allegheny County Department of Economic Development.

That, she said, will make it easier to seek money from the state.

Onorato emphasized that the county's plan would not be forced on local officials. He wants to get as much feedback as possible at an early stage.

"You're coming in at the beginning to give us your input," he said. "If you see something you don't like, speak up and tell us."

Officials repeatedly emphasized the importance of public input.

"We need businesses, we need the communities, community organizations, residents -- everybody has to be involved," said Dennis Davin, county economic development director. His department has posted a survey on its Web site asking county residents: "If you could chose only one thing, what would you say you treasure, find most unique or valuable about Allegheny County?"

Politicians and officials were happy to answer that question yesterday. Onorato selected North Park, former state Sen. Alan Kukovich picked the view of the Point from his Downtown office, and county Councilman Bill Robinson chose Bloomfield.

"It's a great place to get a tremendously good hamburger," Robinson said. "Go down to Tessaro's."

The county started developing Allegheny Places last year and selected McCormick Taylor, an engineering and planning firm, to serve as the project's lead consultant. Funding will come from both the county and a collection of regional, state and federal grants.

Since the final product likely will involve an immense amount of material, planners hope much of the information eventually will be available on the Web.

Global Positioning System technology will be used to create an advanced geographic information database that all municipalities will be able to access, Davin said.

The Web site also will have a feature that lets users examine almost any road in the county to see how often it is used and maintained, as well as where accidents have occurred. Users will be able to take a virtual trip on some roads.

The Internet will be a key link between county and municipal officials.

"We're going to give others what they need to do to be consistent with our plan," said Marilyn Gelzhiser, manager of the county's planning division.

Over the next few months, the county and McCormick Taylor will put together committees charged with examining a range of planning issues. They also will solicit more input from the public.

Gelzhiser said about 6,000 surveys have been completed so far, but officials are hoping for as many as 700,000 county residents to participate in the process.

A draft of the plan could be ready within a year. Onorato and County Council would then have to approve the final plan.

Onorato stressed that Allegheny Places would complement development efforts already under way around the county, singling out the projects at Pittsburgh International Airport, universities and brownfield sites.

"What I don't want to do is just build retail and entertainment complexes up and down the river," he said. "I'm looking for an action plan. We want to get things moving."