Forward 2040 Chapter 13: Implementation
While the adoption of Forward 2040 was the result of considerable effort on the part of the City of Salisbury, it is only a beginning. Continuing progress toward implementing the plan needs to be intentional and accountability should be tracked and measured. The Community Planning Services Department will continue to lead and facilitate implementation in partnership with City Council, City departments, outside agencies and local stakeholder groups.
“Change is easy to propose, hard to implement, and especially hard to sustain.”- Andy Hargreaves
The purpose of this Section is to summarize how the plan will be implemented in several ways:
- Consistency with rezoning decisions and land development regulations
- Annual evaluation and assessment report
- 1-5 Year Action Plan
Consistency of rezoning decisions and land development regulations
As was described in Chapter 4, zoning is the primary tool through which Forward 2040 will be implemented, particularly the Future Land Use Map. In addition to seeking consistency with privately initiated zoning petitions, the City may wish to pursue City-initiated rezonings that are based on small-area or corridor studies. City-initiated text amendments are also needed to ensure development outcomes more closely align with the desired character of development.
Annual evaluation and assessment report
To maintain momentum and track accountability, the Community Planning Services department will prepare an annual Evaluation and Assessment Report to track and monitor progress toward Forward 2040’s goals. The Evaluation and Assessment Report will also serve as an opportunity to make City-initiated amendments to the Future Land Use Plan, recommend minor changes or corrections to the plans goals and policies, and propose new policies and actions. Every three years, updates to the Databook should be considered.
1-5 Year Action Plan
Interwoven throughout Forward 2040’s chapters are actions geared toward implementing the plan’s goals. The chart on the following pages summarizes actions intended for the first one to five years after the plan’s adoption. The chart identifies departments or groups that might be involved, and if the action is likely to require a budget to complete. If the action requires a budget, an estimated amount is listed.
Chapter 3 - Responsibly Managed Growth
Responsibly Managed Growth:
|
Description |
Responsible Agencies |
Budget Needed |
| Growth Action 1 |
Establish annexation agreements with neighboring jurisdictions to address growth boundaries. |
Community Planning Services, Administration - City Attorney |
No |
| Growth Action 2 |
Work with City departments that deliver services and the Finance Department, develop a tool that evaluates the fiscal benefits and costs of annexation. |
Community Planning Services, Finance, Police, Fire SalisburyRowan Utilities, Public Works, Engineering, Parks and Recreation |
No |
| Growth Action 3 |
Invest in studies of Activity Corridors to evaluate options for balancing volume and speed with safety and walkability, starting wtih West Innes Street. |
Engineering, Community Planning Services |
Yes: over $100,000 |
| Growth Action 4 |
Evaluate decreasing the threshold for trips generated by development to require a Traffic Impact Analysis. |
Engineering, Community Planning Services |
No |
Chapter 4 - Context Based Urban Design
Context Based Urban Design:
|
Description |
Responsible Agencies |
Budget Needed |
| Design Action 1 |
Identify and address gaps in transit, bike, and pedestrian services in neighborhood areas. |
Community Planning Services, Transit, GIS, Engineering |
No |
| Design Action 2 |
Create a Local Historic District street sign program. |
Community Planning Services |
Yes: $1,000 - $10,000 |
| Design Action 3 |
Update the Traditional Neighborhood Design Zoning District |
Community Planning Services |
No |
| Design Action 4 |
Create a Planned Residential Development zoning district that allows commercial integration as a pedestrianoriented town center. |
Community Planning Services |
No |
| Design Action 5 |
Consider establishing a ratio of Right-of-Way width to maximum building podium height and step backs to achieve maximum heights. |
Community Planning Services |
No |
| Design Action 6 |
Revise mixed use zoning districts (DMX, NMX, CMX, RMX) to incorporate elements of form-based codes. |
Community Planning Services |
No |
| Design Action 7 |
Conduct a small area plan for the South Main Street Activity Corridor from Downtown to the Neighborhood Activity Center at Fulton Street and Main Street. |
Community Planning Services |
No |
| Design Action 8 |
Work with Rowan County and municipalities along the I-85 corridor to develop a unified zoning district to promote economic development. |
Community Planning Services, SalisburyRowan Utilities |
No |
Chapter 4 - Context Based Urban Design
Context Based Urban Design:
|
Description |
Responsible Agencies |
Budget Needed |
| Housing Action 1 |
Develop a 10-year Housing Strategy to examine current supply and condition of affordable housing and create implementable plan to address housing needs. |
Community Planning Services |
Yes: over $100,000 |
| Housing Action 2 |
Review and propose changes to the Land Development Ordinance related to accessory dwelling units. Regulations should address the size, scale, and location of the accessory unit, as well as impacts, such as parking, to the surrounding properties. |
Community Planning Services |
No |
| Housing Action 3 |
Develop a Subsidized Housing Location Policy to ensure subsidized housing is not concentrated in any particular area. |
Community Planning Services |
No |
| Housing Action 4 |
Seek ways to market surplus public property for the creation of affordable housing. |
Community Planning Services, Engineering, Community Development Corporation |
No |
| Housing Action 5 |
Explore a partnership to develop a Community Land Trust that ensures long term affordability in neighborhoods throughout the City.ion 6
|
Community Planning Services, Community Development Corporation |
No |
| Housing Action 6 |
Review infill standards in the Land Development Ordinance. |
Community Planning Services |
No |
| Housing Action 7 |
Develop a local streets plan that identifies and prioritizes opportunities for traffic calming, and completing gaps in sidewalk and bicycle networks. |
Community Planning Services, Engineering, Public Works |
Yes: $50,000 - $100,000 |
| Housing Action 8 |
Develop a GIS based model to routinely assess neighborhood conditions. Factors could include average sale price, percentage of vacant or boarded properties, percentage of properties with code violations, and homeownership rates. |
GIS, Community Planning Services |
No |
| Housing Action 9 |
Work with the HOME consortium to develop a fund-sharing model that would allow the City to complete larger projects on a scheduled basis, as opposed to smaller projects every year. |
Community Planning Services |
No |
| Housing Action 10 |
Explore the creation of a tool library where residents can borrow tools for maintenance and home improvement projects. |
Community Planning Services, Public Works |
No |
| Housing Action 11 |
Explore a matching grant program for neighborhoods to apply for new amenities, such as gardens, art installations, and parks. |
Community Planning Services |
No |
Chapter 6 - Sustainable, Clean Natural Environment
Sustainable, Clean Natural Environment:
|
Description |
Responsible Agencies |
Budget Needed |
| Environment Action 1 |
Establish a baseline carbon inventory and track greenhouse gas emissions related to City operations to monitor emissions and create future emission goals. |
Public Works - Sustainability |
Yes: $50,000 - $100,000 |
| Environment Action 2 |
Lead by example by transitioning the City fleet to advanced transportation technologies in order to maintain air quality, preserve natural resources, and reduce reliance on oil. |
Public Works - Sustainability and Fleet |
Yes: over $100,000 |
| Environment Action 3 |
Seek funding for a pilot program for transitioning fleet vehicles to alternative fuel sources that also studies the costs and benefits of a full program. |
Public Works - Sustainability and Fleet |
Yes: $50,000 - $100,000 |
| Environment Action 4 |
Establish a suitable network of electric vehicle charging stations. |
Public Works - Sustainability and Fleet |
Yes: $10,000 - $50,000 |
| Environment Action 5 |
Complete an urban tree gap and canopy analysis. |
GIS, Public Works |
No |
| Environment Action 6 |
Implement a street tree planting and maintenance program that also educates and encourages residents on the benefits of tree preservation and tree planting on their private property in appropriate locations. |
Public Works - Sustainability, Community Planning Services |
Yes: $1,000 - $10,000 |
| Environment Action 7 |
Develop a Landscape Manual that guides the planting of appropriate tree species in a variety of conditions in appropriate locations. |
Public Works, Community Planning Services |
No |
| Environment Action 8 |
Adopt a Complete Streets Policy. |
Engineering, Community Planning Services |
No |
| Environment Action 9 |
Review the landscaping requirements in parking lots with the aim of reducing heat island effects. |
Public Works, Community Planning Services |
No |
| Environment Action 10 |
Develop and implement an active, City-wide campaign against littering. |
Public Works - Sustainability, Community Planning Service |
No |
| Environment Action 11 |
Investigate City-wide food waste composting programs. |
Public Works - Sustainability, Salisbury-Rowan Utilities |
Yes: $1,000 - $10,000 |
Chapter 7 - Resilient, Diverse Economy
Resilient, Diverse Economy:
|
Description |
Responsible Agencies |
Budget Needed |
| Economy Action 1 |
Explore funding to plan and build a regional greenway connection with the Town of Spencer as a tourism and economic development attraction. |
Parks and Recreation, Engineering, Community Planning Services |
Yes: over $100,000 |
| Economy Action 2 |
Conduct a Retail Market Assessment to identify business clusters and gaps as a baseline for recruiting retail businesses. |
Community Planning Services |
Yes: $50,000 - $100,000 |
| Economy Action 3 |
Proactively advise developers and property owners on options for seeking and obtaining brownfield grant funding as a means to investigate and remediate contaminated development sites. |
Community Planning Services |
Yes: over $100,000 |
| Economy Action 4 |
Work to remediate the 12acre Kesler Mill Site, comply with EPA standards, and sign into an NC Brownfield Agreement. Facilitate a community process to envision the future of the site. |
Community Planning Services |
Yes: over $100,000 |
Chapter 8 - Healthy, Active Community
Healthy, Active Community:
|
Description |
Responsible Agencies |
Budget Needed |
| Health Action 1 |
Routinely update the System Gap Analysis to identify gaps in parks service areas. |
Parks and Recreation, GIS |
No |
| Health Action 2 |
Apply for funding to update the 2009 Bicycle Master Plan, one option could be through the North Carolina Department of Transportation. |
Parks and Recreation, Engineering, Community Planning Services |
Yes: $50,000 - $100,000 |
| Health Action 3 |
Adopt a neighborhood street calming policy to enhance safety. |
Engineering |
Yes: $10,000 - $50,000 |
| Health Action 4 |
Review the zoning ordinance for opportunities to allow new methods of food cultivation and production, such as hydroponics. |
Community Planning Services |
No |
Chapter 9 - Equitable, Inclusive Community
Equitable, Inclusive Community:
|
Description |
Responsible Agencies |
Budget Needed |
| Equity Action 1 |
Create a tool to assess the impacts of budget requests on neighborhoods. Track and report capital investments using geographic, demographic, and socioeconomic data. |
Finance, Administration - Diverty, Equity, and Inclusion, GIS |
Yes: $1,000 - $10,000 |
| Equity Action 2 |
Create a survey mechanism to assess community needs on a regular basis. |
Administration, Finance |
Yes: $1,000 - $10,000 |
Chapter 10 - Vibrant Community Atmosphere
Vibrant Community Atmosphere:
|
Description |
Responsible Agencies |
Budget Needed |
| Community Action 1 |
Work with the Public Art Commission and stakeholders to create a Public Art Master Plan. |
Community Planning Services |
No |
| Community Action 2 |
Add CPTED certified police employees to the development plan review process for all public projects, including those initiated by the City, Rowan County and Rowan Salisbury Schools. |
Police |
No |
| Community Action 3 |
Develop a program that offers a CPTED consultation from certified police employees for private property owners of commercial establishments. |
|
Yes: $1,000 - $10,000 |
| Community Action 4 |
Use a portion of storm water fees to create a grant program for neighborhood rain gardens or to reduce fees for those who maintain rain gardens. |
Public Works - Stormwater and Sustainability, Community Planning Services |
Yes: $1,000 - $10,000 |
Chapter 11 - Unique, Dynamic Downtown
Vibrant Community Atmosphere:
|
Description |
Responsible Agencies |
Budget Needed |
| Downtown Action 1 |
Partner with Downtown Salisbury Inc. to develop and implement a 10-Year Downtown Master Plan. |
Downtown Salisbury, Inc., Community Planning Services |
No |
| Downtown Action 2 |
Complete construction documents for streetscape and infrastructure improvements to Main Street through Downtown. |
Engineering, Community Planning Services, Downtown Salisbury, Inc. |
Yes: over $100,000 |
| Downtown Action 3 |
Partner with Rowan County Tourism to update wayfinding in Downown. |
Engineering, Community Planning Services, Downtown Salisbury, Inc. |
Yes: $50,000 - $100,000 |
| Downtown Action 4 |
Explore the creation of a multimodal transportation hub centered in the area around the Salisbury Passenger Depot to bring visitors into downtown. |
Engineering, Community Planning Services, Transit, Downtown Salisbury, Inc. |
Yes: over $100,000 |
| Downtown Action 5 |
Develop a plan for residential and commercial parking programs in Downtown. |
Downtown Salisbury, Inc. |
Yes: $1,000 - $10,000 |
| Downtown Action 6 |
Promote Salisbury’s downtown as a residential neighborhood with housing that is available at a variety of price points, including workforce, affordable, and market-rate housing. Encourage a mixture of renter and owner-occupied units. |
Downtown Salisbury, Inc., Community Planning Services |
No |
| Downtown Action 7 |
Establish a plan for free WiFi in Downtown to support visitors and events. |
Downtown Salisbury, Inc. |
Yes: $10,000 - $50,000 |
Chapter 12 - Local and Regional Partnerships
Local and Regional Partnerships:
|
Description |
Responsible Agencies |
Budget Needed |
| Partnerships Action 1 |
Develop a neighborhood group registration process to have record of active groups in the City. |
Community Planning Services |
No |