Policies & Recommendations Policies and recommendations are included throughout the Land Use Plan, including this section, the “Planning Concepts” portion of the Character Area section, and the Town-Wide Initiatives section. These recommendations provide guidelines, targets, and priorities for shaping future growth and development in the community. From time-to-time, a development application may bring into conflict one or more of the policies or recommendations presented in this Plan, and both the Planning Board and Board of Commissioners will need to balance competing interests and make choices that maximize intended outcomes stated in the Plan to the best of their abilities. The primary intention of the Land Use Plan is always to promote and protect the health, safety, welfare, prosperity, and positive image of Fuquay-Varina.
periodically. In-person forums with elected officials, area developers, advocacy groups, and other organizations should be used to highlight key points in the document, and answer questions about its role in the Town’s decision-making processes. Policy 1.2: Review and Update the Land Use Plan Regularly The Land Use Plan should be reviewed every five years and updated every ten years to evaluate changing conditions in markets, demographics, residents’ values, state and federal legislations. Policy 1.3: Review and Revise Town Documents to Implement Plan Recommendations Program Town resources to review and revise, as needed, rules and requirements in the local Land Development Ordinance and the Standard Specifications and Construction Details to implement recommendations in the Land Use Plan. Policy 1.4: Coordinate with Large Land Owners in the Planning Area Town officials should coordinate with large land owners in the planning area to discuss land availability, and their development interests in the future, to help guide future development, infrastructure investment, and land conservation decisions. Policy 1.5: Make Greater “Cents” of the Town’s Future Land Use Map to Fund Infrastructure Needs in the Future The Land Use Plan should focus on long-term priorities to improve the Town’s financial outlook by increasing its overall tax base and its diversity. Be creative in implementing strategies that maximize sustainable revenue streams for future year infrastructure investments, and reconsider rules and requirements in the Town for
commercial, office, industrial, or mixed-use areas related to densities, land use mix, building heights, or parking requirements that depress development potential (and thus tax and fee generation potential). Consider incentives that encourage redevelopment of underutilized commercial parcels in the Town to increase sales tax revenues. Policy 1.6: Include Entertainment & Leisure Components in Form-Based Land Use Categories There is often an overall lack of public and semi-public gathering spaces in activity center developments that could draw residents out of their homes to interact more with one another as a community. Supporting new public places or special events in identified activity centers on the Future Land Use Map ― uses identified as downtown or neighborhood, community, or regional employment activity centers ― would give people a “third place” (i.e., other than work or home) to connect and socialize. Gathering places in major activity centers should promote a variety of social events and activities; including summer concerts, children’s events, talking, playing, people-watching, or simply enjoying time alone in the company of others. They should be intermixed throughout each activity center as formal areas (e.g., park, playground, or amphitheater) or informal areas (e.g., cafe, plaza, benches, or sitting wall) to accommodate varying crowds and interests.
Policies and recommendations in the Land Use Plan are not a substitute for specific rules and requirements contained in the Town’s Land Development Ordinance.
General Implementation
Policy 1.1: Encourage Use of the Land Use Plan in Everyday Decision-Making The Land Use Plan provides a road map for achieving a desirable development pattern and community character. The Town and its partners should celebrate the Plan, and use it as a key resource in development review, infrastructure planning, and coordination with outside service providers. The document should be widely-accessible to residents, business owners, and property owners throughout the Town. Hard copies should be available in community buildings. A downloadable copy should be available from the Town’s website and other economic development outlets. Social media should be used to announce the document’s adoption, and then remind people of its importance and availability for review
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Fuquay-Varina Land Use Plan
Chapter 6: Policies & Recommendations
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