Durham's PZC to Review Plan of Conservation and Development

Durham's planning and zoning commission will soon begin review of the town's plan of conservation and development, a "living" document that serves as the blueprint for the town's future land-use and conservation efforts.

The plan was last reviewed, revised and approved by voters a decade ago.

The PZC will hold a series of workshops in the coming months to seek input from the town's boards and commissions, as well as any community groups that might want to share ideas.

"I think the best way to do it is take the existing plan... to review it, and see if there's some errors, revisions, comments or suggestions," town planner Geoff Colegrove told commission members at their Dec. 5 meeting.

The entire Plan of Conservation and Development can be found here.

The plan covers a number of areas, including population and housing, transportation, economic development and open space use. A decade ago, protection of Durham's Main Street became a central focus of the commission's efforts to revise the document.

Joseph Pasquale, who is also member of the town's Agricultural Commission, recommended that the plan include a section dedicated to agriculture and other members agreed that non-formal groups such as Solarize Durham be given an opportunity to share input.

"I think it's important to include anybody that's got an idea," said chairman Richard Eriksen. "Hopefully people will say, 'Hey, I've got an idea.'"

State law requires towns and cities to review their plan every ten years and any proposed changes to the document will be presented at a future town meeting and require voter approval.

Colegrove said he plans to prepare an outline of the current plan to present to boards and commissions. He added that he's optimistic that the process could be finished by the end of 2013.