Following the process draft release on October 30 and a 30-day public comment period including Advisory Committee and Town staff review, a final process draft of the future Southern Pines Long-Range plan has been completed.

The link below downloads a copy of the entire document, including the main plan chapters as well as the four appendices. Note that Appendix B - the goal, policy and program matrix, is the key, with the rest of the plan referencing and expanding on what the plan policies will work to achieve. To help make the document more accessible via the web, we’ve reduced the file size which in some cases, can make images fuzzier than they’ll appear in final printed copies.

This draft is to be delivered to the Planning Commission for further review and recommendation to Council soon thereafter. Further comments on the plan may be delivered to the Planning Commission in their hearings and review process, or in writing to Town Manager Reagan Parsons by hand, via mail or .

It’s a fairly large file, so give it a little while to download for on-screen viewing, or for saving to your desktop. Printed copies are available for review at the Town library, 170 West Connecticut Avenue, and at the Town’s Planning Department, 180 SW Broad Street.

If you were one of the hundreds of community members that took part in the process, thanks!

Draft Long-Range Plan (7.8 Mb, Acrobat® file)

After months of community input through workshops, questionnaires, interviews, committee review and more, a process draft of the future Southern Pines Long-Range plan has been completed.

The link below downloads a copy of the entire document, including the main plan chapters as well as the four appendices. Appendix B - the goal, policy and program matrix, is the key, with the rest of the plan referencing and expanding on what the plan policies will work to achieve.

This draft is one open for public review through November 30th. A second draft will follow, intending to be delivered to the Planning Commission for further review and recommendation to Council soon thereafter. In short, there’s still time to offer input - simply deliver written comments to Town Manager Reagan Parsons by hand, via mail or .

It’s a fairly large file, so give it a little while to download. Paper copies will be made available beginning Monday, November 2.

Check it out, and if you were one of the hundreds of community members that took part in the process, thanks!

Draft Long-Range Plan (5.7 Mb, Acrobat® file)

Participants at the latest Long-Range Plan workshop series held on September 16 were asked to review a draft of the new plan’s policy and program list. Based on what participants wrote and said, the draft goals reflect the Town well - and provide a good outline for important work yet to come.

Due to the length of the entire list of plan goals, policies and programs, consultant Studio Cascade presented worksheets with key policies and 12 different programs relating to them. Participants were given time to review these individually and in groups, along with printed copies of the entire policy list. As with previous workshops, table groups were encouraged to present their findings to the larger audience.

Of those presenting at both workshops - one at the Douglass Center and another at the Recreation Center - programs favored included creating a neighborhood plan for West Southern Pines, updating the recreation and parks plan, allocating additional funds for acquiring and developing parkland, and preparing an urban design plan for the Pennsylvania Avenue corridor to help revitalize and activate the link between West Southern Pines and downtown.

Two written comments that seemed to capture much of the discussion: "Connect east and west Southern Pines via Pennsylvania Avenue to create one town, not east and west" and, "Develop a West Southern Pines neighborhood plan...with the input of neighborhood citizens."

The draft goal, policy and program framework, along with a worksheet sample and a copy of the meeting presentation, are linked below. The entire framework, as refined to reflect input from the day’s workshops, will be included in the draft plan. The draft Southern Pines Long-Range Plan is expected to be ready for public review in October.

Draft policy & program list (340 Kb, Acrobat® file)
Meeting worksheet (172 Kb, Acrobat® file)
Presentation slides (2.0 Mb, Acrobat® file)

Along with helping review emerging plan policy, Long-Range Plan Advisory Committee (AC) members have also been active in making presentations to various civic groups and organizations.

One such meeting took place before the West Southern Pines Civic Club on July 13, led by AC members Shanda Whitaker and Deonté Thomas.

Besides the presentation, most in attendance took part in two types of questionnaires - the “Penny-Poll,” an informal questionnaire that asks participants to prioritize important issues by allocating a ten-penny budget among ten topic areas, and the eight-question “Mini-Poll,” covering key plan topics.

The files linked below provide results from each activity. Interestingly, among 28 participants, the number one penny-getter was “Neighborhood Revitalization,” followed by “Jobs & Economy,” “Housing,” and “Community Connections.” This in contrast to responses from folks at the Springfest booth, for example, who chose “Open Space” and “Downtown” as top priorities, and placed “Housing” and “Community Connections” near the bottom. Mini-poll results appear more consistent with at-large results, though Civic Club participants seem to more strongly prefer single-family housing over other types mentioned.

While results are non-scientific, they do help illustrate preferences and important contrasts within the community.

Look for the next mini-poll questionnaire in your Southern Pines July utility statement. Fill it out soon, and take part in shaping Southern Pines’ future!

Penny-poll results (336Kb, Acrobat® file)
Mini-poll results (308 Kb, Acrobat® file)