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Saturday, September 29, 2018

Town of Davidson Initiates Comprehensive Plan Process - Deeks Volunteers

DAVIDSON, N.C. – The Town of Davidson is excited to announce the beginning of its comprehensive plan process. Each and every Davidson community member will be asked for input over the course of this 18+ month process. To help us guide the overall process, we want to create two committees – a Plan Advisory Group and a Publicity & Outreach Committee. The application form is located here, and the deadline to apply is September 30. Below please find descriptions of the two committees, the scope of work, and participation expectations:

1. Plan Advisory Group

Members of this group will play a role in shaping the comprehensive plan process and serve as a sounding board to guide the development of the plan. We anticipate 12 or so citizens will be selected to join elected officials, representatives from the planning and livability boards, Design Review Board, and Davidson College to form the Plan Advisory Group (PAG). There will also be staff members and consultants serving as liaisons to this group.

We anticipate that the PAG will meet seven times during the planning process, focusing their efforts on reviewing and providing feedback on the planning process and draft plan. Dates for these meetings will be solidified once the group is selected. The Planning Advisory Group’s scope of work follows: The PAG will meet twice during Phase 1/Fall 2018 to discuss the comprehensive planning process, schedule, and the Plan Advisory Group’s role over the course of the process, topics/issues pertinent to Davidson, outcomes of the first round of public intercept events and will provide input on public engagement activities to conduct at the first community workshop scheduled for January.

The PAG will meet twice during Phase 2/Winter 2019 to review reports from Phase 1 and help determine the focus and activities of the two upcoming workshops. After the workshops, the PAG will discuss how the findings should be translated specifically into policy direction, comprehensive plan content, recommended code changes, and Planning Area map revisions.

The PAG will meet three times during Phase 3/Summer 2019 to review the draft plan in three different, digestible modules, since the content will be so detailed.

2. Publicity & Outreach Committee

This committee will leverage our community members’ personal networks, communications and marketing skills, and ability to get the word out about upcoming engagement opportunities. This group will work regularly this fall and then intermittently as the project proceeds.

“If you are not interested in serving on one of these committees, but want to make sure your voice is heard as we create the comprehensive plan, please participate as an individual,” said Co-Project Leader Trey Akers. “Our project team will attend events and meetings around town this fall to get input from citizens where they already are.”

In January, we’ll host a public kick-off event when all members of the community will be invited to share input, and in March we anticipate hosting a multi-day workshop to which every Davidson resident will be invited. In addition to gathering input in person, we’ll also have multiple opportunities for community members to provide insight via email, online and hard-copy surveys, etc. During the summer months of 2019, we’ll work on a draft plan and present updates at board of commissioners’ meetings, so community members will have the opportunity to share feedback as the comprehensive plan is drafted.

Background

What is a comprehensive plan? It’s the leading policy document and tool to help communities create a vision and guiding principles for decision-making for their town. In Davidson’s case, it allows our community to understand our historical context, acknowledge immediate concerns, evaluate options for how to best proceed, and move together toward a better future for Davidson. Because it’s a community-centered process, input from our community members is critical.

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