Town board delays vote on downtown master plan

Jan. 6 — The Cornelius Town Board on Monday unanimously voted to further delay a decision on adopting the 2050 Downtown Master Plan until its March 16 meeting.

The board had initially planned to vote at its Nov. 17 meeting but postponed the decision until Jan. 20 after hearing concerns about the plan.

Downtown residents have raised a wide range of issues. Many expressed concern about changes to traffic patterns that could affect their homes and properties. Others opposed plans to extend Academy Street.

Mayor Denis Bilodeau summarized the board’s decision to delay the vote.

“This is an important decision, and we need to get it right,” he said.

The plan was developed by the Kimley-Horn consulting firm, which was hired 18 months ago, with input from residents, local businesses and planning experts.

When presenting the plan in November, Town Planning Director Rox Burhans said the “challenging part will be implementing the various elements outlined in the document. This is just the beginning.”

That uncertainty fueled much of the public feedback and contributed to the board’s decision to delay the vote until March.

Details on the draft downtown master plan are available on the town’s website.