2030 Comprehensive Plan Update

The City of Raleigh has updated the 2030 Comprehensive Plan. Now that it is complete, it will serve as the key policy document intended to make Raleigh more workable, livable, and prosperous. The plan provides an integrated approach to Raleigh’s physical development and related economic and social issues, with an emphasis on environmental, economic, and social sustainability and enhancing land use and transportation coordination. The plan integrates and coordinates the plans of many city departments.

The final adopted document is available from the Comprehensive Plan page.

You can view a "quick guide" that highlights significant themes and revisions proposed in the Update. You can also review the six resolutions that officially adopted the Comprehensive Plan Update.

Project Details

Type:: Area Plans
Project Lead:: Bynum Walter, AICP

Overview and Timeframe

The project phases are presented in reverse chronological order, with the final phase at the top and preceding phases below.

Review and Adoption (2018-2019)

During a work session on March 12, 2019, City Council referred the Update to Planning Commission for review and recommendation, with instructions to structure the review around the 2030 Comprehensive Plan's six Vision Themes and to report their recommendations back to City Council for each grouping of sections on a rolling basis as they were finalized.

Planning Commission completed their review in April, May, and June of 2019, and submitted official recommendations to Council during that time frame.

City Council held public hearings for all of the content in the Update between June 4 and October 1, and have adopted all of the seventeen Plan sections as of November 12, 2019.

Plan Drafting + Public Engagement #3 (complete 2017)

After the third round of public engagement, the update process reached the stage of publishing updated drafts for review and comment. Review and inventory of all comments.

White Paper + Public Engagement #2 (complete 2016)

A White Paper that forecasts likely revisions to the 2030 Comprehensive Plan was adopted by City Council in 2016. The second round of public engagement was organized to solicit input about the White Paper.

In-Reach and Outreach + Public Engagement #1 (complete 2015)

Group meeting with RCAC to review/obtain recommendations for public workshops.
Departmental Focus Groups.
Online Engagement Goes Live.
Group meetings with Boards and Commissions.
Public Workshops Round 1 - March 2015 - View the presentation.

Also, view the Trends and Issues to Consider handout from the meeting as well as the final Public Meeting Notes.

Phase I - Due Diligence (complete)

Update of the Data Book, with accompanying the analysis of new trends in the data.
Five-Year Comprehensive Plan Progress Report.
Policy audit.

Public Review Draft

The City of Raleigh has published updated draft chapters of the plan based on the recommendations contained in the 2030 Comprehensive Plan Update White Paper from April of 2016. These have been made available here in installments; the final installment was published on October 26, 2017.

Public comment was solicited April 28 through December 17, 2017. Comprehensive Planning staff has revised the draft document to incorporate public comment. The blackline documents posted here reflect all changes made to the Comprehensive Plan as presented to City Council for their review.

The revised draft was presented to City Council in the fall of 2018 and the approval process is now underway.

Section	Last Updated Date	Blacklines
Introduction	Sept. 17, 2018	Compare
Framework	Sept. 17, 2018	Compare
Land Use	Sept. 17, 2018	Compare
Transportation	Sept. 17, 2018	Compare
Environmental Protection	Sept. 17, 2018	Compare
Economic Development	Sept. 17, 2018	Compare
Housing	Sept. 17, 2018	Compare
Parks, Recreation and Open Space	Sept. 17, 2018	Compare
Public Utilities	Sept. 17, 2018	Compare
Community Facilities and Services	Sept. 17, 2018	Compare
Urban Design	Sept. 17, 2018	Compare
Historic Preservation	Sept. 17, 2018	Compare
Arts and Culture	Sept. 17, 2018	Compare
Regional and Interjurisdictional Coordination	Sept. 17, 2018	Compare
Downtown Raleigh	Sept. 17, 2018	Compare
Area Plans
Arena Blue Ridge	Sept. 25, 2017
Avent West	June 27, 2017	Compare
Brier Creek Village	May 26, 2017
Buffalo New Hope	May 26, 2017
Blount Person	Oct. 12, 2017
Capital Boulevard	Sept. 25, 2017
Cameron Park	June 14, 2017	Compare
Crabtree	June 14, 2017	Compare
Downtown West Gateway	Sept. 25, 2017	Compare
Falls Lake	Sept. 25, 2017	Compare
Falls of Neuse Corridor	Apr. 28, 2017
Five Points East	June 14, 2017	Compare
Forestville Village	June 14, 2017	Compare
Garner-Tryon Neighborhood	May 26, 2017	Compare
I540 Falls of Neuse	Sept. 25, 2017	Compare
King Charles	Oct. 12, 2017
Mission Valley	Apr. 28, 2017
New Bern	October 26, 2017
Olde East Raleigh	Sept. 25, 2017	Compare
Rock Quarry Battle Bridge	Oct. 12, 2017
Swift Creek	June 27, 2017
South Park	Oct. 12, 2017
Southern Gateway	July 28, 2017
Stanhope Village	Apr. 28, 2017
Triangle Town Center	Apr. 28, 2017
Wake Crossroads	July 28, 2017	Compare
West Morgan	July 28, 2017
Wade Oberlin	Apr. 28, 2017
Implementation	Sept. 17, 2018	Compare
Participation in Planning	Sept. 12, 2019
Glossary	Sept. 17, 2018	Compare

Previous Public Meetings

Residents were invited to attend the public meetings to learn about how the Comprehensive Plan addresses five areas: Resiliency, housing, development transitions, transportation, and sustainability.

The following was the schedule for the five public meetings, with the theme for each meeting:

Wednesday, June 7
7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Carolina Pines Community Center, 2305 Lake Wheeler Road.
The theme was Resiliency, an operational philosophy that seeks to identify challenges before they arise and effectively prioritize strategic investments and community capacity building. The goal is to better adapt to, respond to, and recover from unforeseen events.

Presentation
Summary

Wednesday, June 14
7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Tarboro Road Community Center, 121 N. Tarboro St.
The theme was Housing or specifically increasing the supply of affordable housing, revitalizing neighborhoods, and enhancing the homeless-to-housing continuum.

Presentation
Summary

Tuesday, June 20
7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Marsh Creek Community Center, 3050 N. New Hope Road.
The theme was development Transitions. As many people continue to move to the region and as interest grows in walkable urban living, Raleigh is beginning to grow up as much as it grows out.

Presentation
Summary

Tuesday, June 27
7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Pioneers Building in Method Road Community Park, 514 Method Road.
The theme was Transportation. Provided will be a vision for future development of the city’s connectivity network for all modes of transportation, public transit systems, greenways, and bicycle and pedestrian networks.

Presentation
Summary

Tuesday, July 11
7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Durant Nature Preserve, 3237 Spottswood St.
The meeting’s theme was Sustainability or focusing on the interdependent relationships of environmental stewardship, economic strength, and social integrity. These three elements define the vision for sustainability.

Presentation
Summary

Goals

This update evaluates several years of implementation, examining the implication of new data, responding to the latest trends, and resolving issues that have emerged. It is focused on integrating recent planning initiatives, incorporating new and emerging best practices, and refreshing stale policies and actions. The update reflects organizational realignment since 2009 and includes an updated layout and organization.