The general consensus is that traffic is the biggest challenge facing Pinehurst. Pinehurst has been working on its long-range planning for the past year.
The goal is to enable the village to balance the competing pressures of growth while maintaining the unique characteristics that make Pinehurst special. The new plan is expected to provide a guide for growth in Pinehurst for the next 20 years.
Over 500 residents recently attended a two-day Community Open House at the Fair Barn where they could review the Draft Comprehensive Plan and speak to town officials and consultants about their concerns.
The Village of Pinehurst released its Draft Comprehensive Plan at a Community Open House on June 17 and 18. Photo courtesy of Village of Pinehurst.
The current timeline calls for a draft plan to be presented to the council by the end of August. After an extensive review process involving the public and the planning board, the plan is scheduled to be adopted later in the year.
Some of the most frequent comments from the open house were:
The need to address infrastructure to accommodate growth, especially roads, to handle increased traffic, particularly the traffic congestion on NC-5;
Increasing alternative transportation options, including being more golf cart friendly and providing shuttles in the village center;
Increasing the number of parks and open spaces in the village;
Keeping the library in the village center;
The plans for allowing four story buildings in the medical district with multi-story parking garages;
The zoning for the current commercial area on Highway 211 will be adjusted to allow for small scale retail stores.
Currently, over 80 percent of the village is either developed or set aside for open spaces. There are approximately 1,400 unbuilt lots remain scattered in various neighborhoods.
In the village’s extraterritorial planning jurisdiction, almost 60 percent of the land is undeveloped. This is potentially the area of highest growth as more and more rural property is rezoned for residential housing.
Additional meetings and public hearings are scheduled before the planning board with Village Council voting on the final plan in October of this year.
You can learn about the Long Range Comprehensive Plan Update project on this website.
~Written by Sandhills Sentinel Local News/Government Reporter Chris Prentice. 
Contact him at [email protected] or (910) 639-9303.
Feature Photo: File photo of traffic on Highway 5 ~ Sandhills Sentinel.
