ALUP (Southwest)

Southwest Area Land Use Plan

On July 9, 2007, the Wake County Board of Commissioners adopted the 2007 Southwest Wake Area Land Use Plan update. This was the first comprehensive update of one of the County's five Area Land Use Plans.

Adopted in 1997, the County Land Use Plan included a vision, goals, strategies and maps. The maps showed those unincorporated areas into which municipalities were expected to ultimately grow. Within those areas, however, the maps generally did not show activity centers, parks, residential densities and other future uses. The Wake County Land Use Plan directed staff to develop more detailed area land use plans.

The County Commissioners decided those future uses would be "filled in" on the more detailed area land use plans. They also decided, because of the County's size, the best way to fill in those uses would be one geographic area at a time. Staff chose the Southwest as the first area for filling in the uses, mainly because of its rapid growth. The Wake County Area Land Use Plans developed since 1997 include the Southwest ALUP, East Raleigh-Knightdale, Southeast, Northeast and Fuquay-Varina/Garner ALUPs.

The Southwest Wake Area is bordered on the northeast by the Town of Cary’s jurisdiction, on the east by the Town of Apex’s jurisdiction, on the southeast by the Town of Holly Springs’ jurisdiction, and on the south and the west by the County line (see General Classifications Map). As of 2005, the Southwest area consisted of 47,277 acres (74 square miles) and an estimated 6,562 residents. The Southwest area of the County has seen an annual population growth of approximately 2%, and in the years 2000 through 2005 the cumulative growth rate was approximately 11%. Since the plan adoption in 1999, new municipal comprehensive land use plans have been developed by the Towns of Apex, Cary and Holly Springs, whose Urban Services Areas comprise the Southwest study area. Wake County has also recently adopted its own transportation, open space, and watershed plans. Policies and implementation strategies documented in these plans have a direct bearing on future land use in Southwest Wake County.

So, why update the Area Land Use Plan for Southwest Wake?

It had been five years since the plan was adopted in 1999, and the Land Use Plan calls for comprehensive reviews every five years.

• New municipal comprehensive land use plans have been developed by the towns of Cary, Apex and Holly Springs, whose Urban Services Areas comprise the Southwest study area.
• Other County plans have been adopted since 1999 – transportation, open space, watershed – that have a direct bearing on future land use in Southwest Wake County.
• Significant public participation is sought in defining how Southwest Wake County should grow over the next 25 years.

The adopted Southwest Wake Area Land Use Plan has 15 sections:

1. Introduction
2. Vision, Themes & Strategies
3. Population and Housing
4. Local Economy
5. Schools
6. Transportation
7. Natural Resources
8. Wake County Water/Sewer Plan
9. Natural Resources Management
10. Parks, Recreation and Open Space
11. Historic Preservation
12. Farmland Preservation
13. Planning Geographies: ETJs, USAs & TUDs
14. Activity Centers Design Guidelines, Locations & Profiles
15. Next Steps

 

Southwest Area Land Use Plan Maps