Morrisville Land Use Plan 2009

Appendices

A ppendix C. H ow T hese P lans W ere C reated , cont ’ d

Coordination With Regional Partner Organizations The Town of Morrisville staff are committed to engaging neighboring jurisdictions and regional planning groups as active participants in the planning process. Morrisville’s location in the heart of the Triangle necessitates this kind of cooperation in order to plan effectively. The purpose of multi-jurisdictional coordination is to inform the other groups of the Town’s intent regarding future land use and transportation changes, coordinate plans for adjacent areas and road- ways that run through more than one town, receive feedback on issues of interest to the other groups, and collaborate on solutions to some of the more challenging aspects of planning in Morrisville. As such, the Town planning staff and/or consultants have met with the following groups during the planning process (October 2007 through May 2008) and made changes to the plans as described below: • Town of Cary. Met several times to discuss transportation issues related to roadways that go through both jurisdictions, to ensure coordinated improvements. Resulted in changes to the cross-section for NC 54 and Davis Drive, and bicycle/pedestrian improvements on several other roadways. Discussed widening the causeway on Aviation Parkway, which is controlled by NCDOT but within Cary’s jurisdiction, to provide bicycle/pedestrian access from Morrisville to Lake Crabtree Park. Also received email comments on land use issues, including the clarification of urban services areas. Representatives attended two of the public workshops. • Research Triangle Park (RTP). Discussed potentially extending Little Drive through undevel- oped areas of RTP to meet Mason Farm Road in Morrisville. This connection would provide an additional East-West route and connectivity. Discussions on making this connection are ongoing. • North Carolina Railroad Company (NCRR). This organization controls the railroad right-of- way through Morrisville. Planners met with NCRR staff to discuss grade crossings (reducing at-grade crossings in favor of grade separations), hazardous waste transport through the area, future land use policies in the areas around the railroad, and the status of the regional rail study that is currently underway. The plans include an action item to further investigate the hazardous waste issue and manage risk to the residents of Morrisville. • RDU Airport Authority. Discussed the purpose of continuing the airport noise overlay zoning in Morrisville, which prevents residential and other sensitive land uses from locating in areas with greater than 65 db of airport noise. A representative of the Airport Authority made a presentation and answered questions at a meeting of the Plan Advisory Committee (PAC) and attended a public workshop. Discussions are ongoing regarding the possibility of allow- ing residential development west of NC 54 even where the overlay exists. • Capital Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (CAMPO). Discussed transportation priority funding through the Transportation Improvement Program (TIP). Agreed on modifications to some of the planned improvements, such as shifting the planned McCrimmon grade sepa- ration north of the existing roadway. • Triangle J Council of Governments (TJCOG). Collaborated on the route for the proposed RDU-RTP circulator (curb-guided bus) to ensure that it follows a route least likely to impact existing development in Morrisville. • C-Tran (Cary Transit). Discussed the possibility of having C-Tran operate bus service to and within the Town of Morrisville, with the Town’s financial support. Such a provision would cost much less to Morrisville than initiating its own program. Discussed changes in planned C-Tran route along Cary Parkway, changing the route to actually come through Morrisville along NC 54, with stops within the town. Future transit routes through Morrisville (North-South along NC 54 and East-West loop around Airport Boulevard, Aviation Parkway, Morrisville-Carpenter Road and McCrimmon Parkway) were agreed upon from a preliminary standpoint. Partici- pated as a speaker at the Transit focus group meeting. • Triangle Transit. Discussed and agreed to make future plans to change the 301 bus route that currently serves the Morrisville Outlet Mall to run down NC 54 and up Airport Boulevard to the Outlet Mall. Such an altered route would provide additional access to regional transit for Morrisville residents. Participated as a speaker at the Transit focus group meeting. • Wake Coordinated Transit. Discussed a short-term expansion of transit service within Mor- risville in order to provide more options to Morrisville residents. Participated as a speaker at the Transit focus group meeting. • Wake County School Board. Discussed new school search radii and how any potential school sites in the town’s jurisdiction would be treated. • NCDOT. A representative of the NCDOT Rail Division participated in the Church Street focus group meeting, making a presentation and answering questions from citizens on railroad crossing closures. The NCDOT Division Office was provided a copy of the plans and invited to the meetings. They provided no comment. • North Carolina Turnpike Authority. A representative of the NCDOT Rail Division participated in the Church Street focus group meeting, making a presentation and answering questions from citizens on Triangle Parkway. • Regional Transportation Alliance (RTA). Met to discuss overall goals of the transportation plan. Made suggestions regarding the importance of highlighting the Aviation Parkway and Evans/McCrimmon intersection as a “feature intersection.” The Town also invited all of these entities to all three of the public workshops held as part of the planning process, and several representatives of the groups participated in those workshops. Most of these groups received draft copies of the plans to facilitate their review. The Town has also followed the adjacent communities’ updates of their plans. CAMPO, Raleigh, Cary, RTP, and Triangle Transit are all updating their plans at this time. The Town staff also meet regularly with the jurisdictions participating in the Center of the Region Enterprise (Cary, Durham City, Durham County, Raleigh, Wake County) convened by TJCOG, and with staff from all the mu- nicipalities and the county through the Wake Municipal Planners Group convened by Wake County.

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C Public Involvement