TOWN INFORMATION

 

DAVIDSON, N.C. – This fall the Town of Davidson kicked off a comprehensive plan process, entitled What’s Next Davidson?, its first such effort since 2010. The Davidson Board of Commissioners identified the comprehensive plan as a priority in their 2018-2019 Strategic Plan. A comprehensive plan is a document that contains a vision and supporting policies to guide decision-making in the town. Generally, comprehensive plans are updated about every ten years, but in high-growth regions such as ours they are often updated every 5-8 years. What’s Next?features many opportunities for public input over the next several months, including a survey and an upcoming community-wide workshop.

We encourage you to participate in the following ways:

• Visit the project-specific website and complete our online survey on or by Friday, December 14 at www.WhatsNextDavidson.com,
• Sign up for our new What’s Next? eCrier to receive news and information at www.townofdavidson.org/eCrier (type in your email and click the “What’s Next?” list at the bottom), and
• Mark your calendar to attend the “Conversation on What’s Next” workshop on January 17 from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Lilly Family Gallery in the Chambers Building at Davidson College. Please RSVP at www.whatsnextdavidson.com so we know how many chairs we’ll need.

“The survey asks Davidson residents about our existing planning principles and offers space for open-ended responses within it to test whether the principles are still valid,” said Senior Planner Trey Akers. “The results of the survey will guide the quality of life and livability themes that are explored at our community-wide kick-off workshop on January 17 – we hope everyone will attend to help us create a vision for Davidson.”

Background:

A comprehensive plan is the leading policy document and tool to help a community create a vision and guiding principles for decision-making for their town. It covers a lot of topics ranging from housing and transportation to land use, economic development, environment, health, and other areas. It brings all these topics into one document that is then used by elected officials, town staff, and citizens to guide decisions about our community, such as:  How to prioritize what facilities to improve or construct (buildings, parks, streets); what types of land uses are appropriate for different areas of town; what types of programs should we encourage or offer (from government to businesses to institutions and nonprofits); and, how to ensure that our community’s values are represented in each decision made.

The comprehensive plan is a community-centered initiative. The planning process entails an extended community conversation that intentionally engages all stakeholders – residents, neighborhoods, businesses, the college, town government, non-profits, and institutions. Led by a consultant team comprised of Clarion Associates and Planning Next, the planning process will feature a variety of events, tools, and meeting formats to encourage community members to share insight into our community via in-person meetings/workshops, email, and online as well as hard-copy surveys. Whereas this fall will focus on background research and gathering input “where people are,” in the winter and spring of next year the town will host a series of community-wide events in which all are invited to participate. Together, each of these exercises will gather input essential to forming a community-wide vision and set of policies to support our aspirations. Below is a summary of the process and anticipated timeline:

• October – December 2018:  Initial public engagement + community research;
• January 17, 2019:  Community meeting to present and discuss findings;
• March 2019:  Multi-day workshop/event(s) to solicit feedback on policy direction and framework for future comprehensive plan;
• Summer 2019:  Drafting of the comprehensive plan;
• Fall 2019:  Presentation of draft plan and making revisions;
• Winter 2019-2020:  Consideration of adopting new comprehensive plan;
• Winter/Spring 2020:  Drafting/review/approval of implementation plan to guide execution of the comprehensive plan.