Town of Davidson Comprehensive Plan wins award
Oct. 27. The Davidson Comprehensive Plan has been recognized by the North Carolina Chapter of the American Planning Association (NC-APA) with a Marvin Collins Planning Award, Comprehensive Plan/Small Community (less than 25,000 persons) category.
The award recognizes comprehensive plans that advance the science and art of planning.
Adopted in January 2020, the Comprehensive Plan followed an 18-month public engagement effort whose consensus vision further expanded the foundational framework on which Davidson’s community-based planning began 25 years earlier.
“We studied other communities across the state and country to understand best practices for community engagement and brought those concepts to ideas our own residents developed,” said Project Manager and Senior Planner Trey Akers.
Residents played leading roles through dedicated steering committees reflecting the town’s demographic composition – designing engagement activities, shaping process decisions, and co-facilitating events.
“It was an honor to have the chance to participate in the planning process that not only sought input but also incorporated a wealth of feedback and ideas from community members,” said Ellen Donaldson, a steering committee member. Ultimately, the process included more than 30 events collecting 13,000+ data points.
The resulting plan reflects these diverse voices and emphasizes visual graphics, readability, continued planning leadership, and implementation/tracking. “I couldn’t be prouder of the community effort that went into this plan – it truly shows how much the community cares about its past as well as its future,” Planning Director Jason Burdette said.
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You know what should be in that plan? An accessible, public kayak/canoe ramp for lake Cornelius (or lake Davidson).
The town’s PARC Director Troy Fitzsimmons has responded to questions about public access to the lake on the east side of I-77:
“The Town met with neighbors last year to discuss concerns and options for a Lake Cornelius access and then the pandemic struck slowing our progress. I spoke with representatives from Duke and they advised they are still actively assessing options along Lake Cornelius. At this point, this is the only update they can provide, but they are hopeful more details will be forthcoming over the next several months.”