WAKE FOREST — The first step for future planning took place June 9.
The town of Wake Forest held an open house at the Flaherty Park Community Center, giving residents a chance to comment on the Unified Development Ordinance. 
The UDO combines Wake Forest’s zoning, subdivision, land use, grading, storm water management and historic preservation regulations, outlining requirements for development activity. 
“We’re gauging input from the public on the priority areas,” said Wake Forest Senior Planner Kari Grace. “There are certain topics with high interest that are certainly a focus, and we want to have the community deliver their opinions.”
The initial UDO was adopted in 2013 along with the Manual of Specifications, Standards and Design (MSSD). Nearly a decade later, updates are needed for the several comprehensive plans being added, including this year’s community plan and the 2021 Northeast Community Plan.
During the open house, Wake Forest residents were given stickers for maps in the town for stations such as neighborhood elements, along with landscaping, buffering and screening. Each sticker was used to showcase what residents wanted moving forward.
For the open house, a majority selected the preservation of existing trees and environmentally sensitive areas as main preferences in the neighborhood. In another survey, opaque vegetation and physical distance were the primary answers in terms of buffers the community wanted when living next to a school, office, warehouse, or residential and commercial areas.
The town hired the Chicago-based House Lavigne Associates to update the UDO and MSSD, while the Wake Forest planning staff manages the project.
“The real takeaway is that preserving existing trees is a real desire of the community,” House Lavigne representative Jackie Wells said. “What makes it difficult is a state restriction on municipalities to require tree preservation. What we need to do is look at different strategies to incentivize tree preservation to ensure the residents’ desires are realized.”
The goal for the town is to have an initial draft of the UDO and sections of the MSSD by late winter 2022 or early winter 2023. The final draft has a timetable of late winter 2023 and an adoption for spring 2024.
Grace said there will be more opportunities for community input.
“As the project progresses and the drafts are developed, we’ll have something similar to this, as well as online surveys and tables at town events,” Grace said. 
The town’s current UDO is online at www.wakeforestnc.gov/planning/unified-development-ordinance. For additional questions, contact Grace at kgrace@wakeforestnc.gov.