ABOUT OUR OFFICE

The Central Regional Office provides planning services to an eighteen county region consisting of the eastern Piedmont area extending north from Chatham, Wake, Johnston, and Wayne Counties to the North Carolina/Virginia state line.  While this service region includes the rapidly growing area of the Triangle (Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill), our services focus on smaller communities beyond the urbanized area of the Triangle.  Our staff has expertise in long-range planning and visioning, the development and implementation of land use ordinances, annexation and incorporation, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), strategic planning, downtown revitalization, and North Carolina planning statutes.  We also provide customized training programs to local planning boards, boards of adjustment, and governing boards.  

To request planning services from the Central Regional Office, please contact John Morck, Chief Planner, at (919) 733-2850.

MEET OUR STAFF

The Central Regional Office staff includes five Planners, a GIS Specialist, and an Office Assistant.  For more information on our staff, including their backgrounds, interests, and areas of expertise, please see our Staff Bios.

HOW TO FIND US

Our office is located in Raleigh along with the main office for the Division of Community Assistance.  For parking and directions, click here. 

PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS

The Central Regional Office has a diverse project portfolio that includes the following projects:

• Town of Rolesville Comprehensive Plan
• Churton Street Corridor Strategic Plan, Hillsborough, NC
• Orange Breckenridge Redevelopment Plan, Henderson, NC
• Town of Franklinton Strategic Plan
• Town of Whitakers Land Use Plan and Development Ordinances
• Northampton County 21st Century Initiative
• Town of Spring Hope Zoning Ordinance and Subdivision Ordinance

CRO NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

The Central Regional Office provided meeting facilitation assistance to Franklin County to gather public feedback on the County's land use plan.  A series of five meetings were held in Franklinton, Bunn, White Level, Louisburg, and Youngsville in November and December of 2007.  Planners gathered feedback from county residents on key issues pertaining to growth and development.  DCA conducted a Visual Preference Survey (VSP), consisting of a series of images of urban and rural development patterns and uses for which participants will be asked to express their likes and dislikes.  The purpose of the VSP was to identify a community consensus on how the county should look and grow in the future.  Specific recommendations for development standards will be included in the plan based on the results of the VSP.  In addition, the public meetings involved an issues identification brainstorming session and a future land use mapping exercise.

The Central Regional Office has kicked off the Comprehensive Land Use Plan for the City of Henderson in partnership with the Henderson Planning Department and a citizen appointed steering committee.  The city has not updated their land use plan since the 1970's.  The CRO staff is providing Henderson with assistance in creating GIS based land use data, in addition to facilitating the year-long planning process.  The city is preparing to send out a survey in 2008 to assess community needs and issues.  In addition, a workshop will be held in February to gather input from residents on topics relating to quality of life, economic development, environmental protection, housing, public services, and the future development for the city.

With assistance from the Lee Nichols, the Town of Halifax has embarked on a community visioning project.  The town has held several meetings to lay the foundation for a vision statement that will identify how and where the town would like to grow in the future.  The vision statement will be accompanied by a plan for future land use, which will be used to update the town's land development ordinances to ensure that new development reflects the community's vision.