How IMAGINE Morganton 2040 will redefine City Planning

The City of Morganton’s strategic future land use plan, IMAGINE Morganton 2040, is a step closer to completion now that the City Council and Planning & Zoning Commission held a joint meeting on Thursday to review the draft plan in City Hall, 305 E. Union St. 

Through the help of Raleigh-based design and consulting firm Kimley-Horn, the land use document is derived from community input gathered during a series of workshops, questionnaires, forums, and interactive maps. After compiling the feedback, the City and the firm identified a comprehensive list of Morganton’s strengths, weaknesses, and areas of opportunity. 

The conceptual growth strategy offers an overview of the City’s approach to future land use plans. The drafted plan lays the groundwork for City officials and their senior staff of their policies and guidelines on future actions for the good of Morganton. 

Development & Design Director Wendy Smith reported that around 4.4% of the city’s residents gave input for the community-engagement-based project. 

The joint meeting on Thursday night allowed all involved parties to discuss the nearly 100-page, six-sectioned comprehensive plan that has been in the works since February 2023.  

Firm associate Jonathan Whitehurst presented the proposed plan with two main objectives: 

• Allow personal time for council and Planning & Zoning to orient themselves with the draft

• Give a sincere round of thanks to all members who invested their time throughout the process

With the first objective in mind, city officials and commission members are on a deadline to review the drafted plan and provide feedback to Smith by noon on Monday, July 22. This deadline gives Smith and her team time to review the generated comments and then present any needed changes to Whitehurst and his associates. 

Following that, the Advisory Commission will meet on Aug. 8 to discuss the plan. During the Sept. 9 regular City Council meeting, Whitehurst hopes that the council will be prepared to “put a bow” on it by adopting the final plan. 

OVERVIEW OF PLAN

The future land use plan is composed of six sections: Introduction to the Plan, Community Characteristics, Vision and Planning Principles, Land Use Strategy, Policy Framework, and Call to Action. 

Sprinkled throughout the sections are engagement spotlights that showcase how the information presented came about and what developers heard during the input sessions. 

Eleven future land use classifications for zoning ordinance purposes were identified, including the following:

• Downtown Core

• Downtown Edge

• Mixed Use

• Mixed-density, Smaller, and Larger Lot Residential Neighborhood

• Major Industrial

• Service/Industrial

• Institutional Campus

• Parks/Open Space

Morganton’s Vision and Planning Principles for development are based on embracing history and cultural diversity while making “Morganton an unmatched place to live, work, play, and invest.”

These classifications are defined and represented in a series of maps. They focus on factors like open space, compactness, mix of services, and types of individual uses. For instance, would the commercial development be an office or retail building? For residential, is it a multi-family, single-family, or quadplex/townhome? 

POLICY FRAMEWORK

The City’s proposed policy framework consists of the following focus areas: Grow, Thrive, Live, Activate, Embrace, Move, Preservation, and Plan. 

Each focus is explored through designated action items, strategies, and visual mappings. 

Additionally, these actions are categorized by the proposed implementation priorities using the following factors:

• Type of Action, whether it is a plan, policy, study, investment, regulation, etc. 

• Timeframe, how long will the project take?

• Responsible entities, such as Public Works, Public Safety, Main Street, etc. 

• Resources, how much time will be allocated, and the costs associated? 

• Community priorities, what is the community asking? 

APPRECIATION ON ALL SIDES

This project is the final “home stretch,” so Whitehurst and the city officials took time to thank one another for their investment and passion for the development plan.

Whitehurst expressed that Morganton’s planning process has been one of the best projects he has participated in, and it was a pleasure to be a part of this journey for the City. 

In previous projects, there has not been the amount of turnout nor local members who were as present as Morganton. He categorized their local perspective, whether that be 15 years or five generations, generated a “hopeful pressure” to plan a better future. 

Smith thanked the whole room of commission members, council, Whitehurst, and his staff. She also highlighted her team members who spent numerous hours and nights on this project.

City Manager Sally Sandy, who has been with the City for over 31 years, articulated the importance of the plan.

“The next couple of years will be just as busy as the past couple of years,” Sandy said. “If our community stands still, we are really moving backward, and we do not believe in that.”