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1
Introduction
1.0 I
ntroduction
1.1 Purpose
The
2009 Land Use Plan
for the Town of Morrisville is the foundation of the Town’s land
use and development policies and an official public document adopted by the Town
Council. The authority to adopt a Land Use Plan is specifically enabled under the North
Carolina General Statutes. The purpose of the Land Use Plan is to guide the coordinated
and harmonious development of the Town that takes into account the present and future
needs and resources to promote the health, safety, prosperity, and general welfare of the
Town and its citizens.
The Land Use Plan provides the basis for evaluating land-development proposals. The Plan
is the foundation for amendments to the Town’s development ordinances ensuring that
the overall land use goals of the Town are implemented through the regulatory process.
Following the adoption of the
2009 Land Use Plan
, these ordinances will be updated so
they are consistent with the revised Plan policies.
The policies in this document provide guidance for development decisions covering the
period 2009 - 2035. The Land Use Plan is not intended to be a static document. The poli-
cies of the Land Use Plan should be amended in the future without straying from the basic
goals of the plan, as new information becomes available or to address further changes in
circumstances.
1.2 Land Use Plan Format
The
2009 Land Use Plan
is organized into several sections. The first section sets forth the
purpose, background and format of the overall Land Use Plan. Section Two introduces
background materials, such as surrounding jurisdictions, demographics, environmental
and other development considerations, and a brief history of the Town of Morrisville. Sec-
tion Three depicts the existing land use and recent development in the Town of Morrisville,
providing context for the future land use recommendations. Section Four sets forth the
basic policy direction of the Land Use Plan, including the Vision, Goals and Policies that will
guide the Plan as a whole. Section Five describes the recommended future land uses for
the town, including the Future Land Use Map and all of the Future Land Use Categories,
including design guidelines for land uses. Section Six describes in greater detail the various
community areas of Morrisville and offers illustrations of some of the proposed changes in
this plan. Finally, Section Seven establishes Action Items to implement the Plan.
1.3 Relationship to Other Town Planning Documents
The Town’s Land Use Plan updates and supersedes the
1999 Land Use Plan
, which was ad-
opted on November 9, 1999. It incorporates the basic policies and vision of the
2003 North
Morrisville-Shiloh Small Area Plan
. It also recognizes the
2007 Town Center Plan
, leaving
that area to be addressed by that document and its ongoing implementation process.
The
2009 Transportation Plan
is being adopted concurrently with the Land Use Plan. The
two documents were developed using the same methodology and public involvement
process, and share three identical sections (Section Two: Background; Section Four: Policy
Direction; Section Seven: Action Items). The Town created the plans concurrently in rec-
ognition of the interconnected nature of transportation and land use. By planning them
jointly, the Town may more effectively guide its future.
1.4 Land Use Plan Review and Update Process
The
2009 Land Use Plan
process was conducted from 2007 through 2009, and is the prod-
uct of work by citizens, the Plan Advisory Committee, the Planning and Zoning Board, the
Town Council, Town staff and consultants. The Land Use and Transportation Plans are re-
viewed by both the Planning and Zoning Board and Town Council.
The
2009 Land Use Plan
was prepared with extensive citizen involvement. Considerable
effort was made to ensure that people interested in participating in the plan review and
update process had the opportunity to do so. The public process involved at least 180 in-
dividuals with a broad geographic representation from different areas within the Town. The
Plan review process was accompanied by an ambitious community-involvement strategy
that provided ready access both to new information and to the process.
The process included three public workshops, conducted in October 2007, January 2008,
and March 2008, that were attended by more than 80 attendees each. The public work-
shops emphasized both information dissemination from staff and consultants as well as the
active participation of citizens. Each workshop featured a group exercise that allowed
participants to share their views of the future Morrisville in a structured, engaged manner.
The workshops were heavily advertised via flyers, newsletter notices and the citizen email
listserv. The latter two workshops were also advertised by postcards sent to all of Morris-
ville’s 6,700 households and businesses (see example at right).
In addition, a series of seven Plan Advisory Committee (PAC) meetings were conducted
to solicit in-depth input from committee members, who represented a broad spectrum of
the community leaders and stakeholders. Three focus group meetings were held to target
key groups that might not attend the larger meetings, including youth, residents of the
North Morrisville-Shiloh area, and transit users. A public survey was conducted from Janu-
ary through March 2008, garnering 180 responses. A project website available throughout
the planning process offered a way to find any meeting materials, the current schedule of
meetings and events, and a way to provide input via an online discussion board. A project
hotline was also available for citizens to leave comments or questions for project staff.
The recommendations of the townspeople and stakeholders were incorporated into the
overall policies of the Future Land Use Plan through this extensive public input process. A
more detailed description of public engagement in the planning process appears in Ap-
pendix C.
Citizens get involved in land use
planning at the second public workshop,
held on January 31, 2008.
Postcard sent to
Morrisville households
advertising the March 27,
2008 public workshop.
Figure 1.1 on the opposite page offers
an overview of theTown of Morrisville,
showing color aerial photographs from
September 2007 and the planning
jurisdiction as a yellow dashed line.
The planning jurisdiction includes the
town limits as well as the town’s Extra
Territorial Jurisdiction (ETJ) (yellow
shading) and Short-Range Urban
Services Area (SRUSA) (orange shading)
and comprises the area subject to the
policies included in this plan document.
Although most of Morrisville’s planning
jurisdiction falls inWake County, several
parcels in Durham County have been
annexed into the town.