The City of Lenoir is creating a new comprehensive plan to guide development and decision making in the city during the next 20 years. Citizens will have several opportunities to give their input and ideas about Lenoir’s future.
A comprehensive plan, or “comp plan” for short, outlines goals and strategies for how the city will grow and develop. This new plan will be called “Living Lenoir 2045 Comprehensive Plan.”
Planning Department Director Hannah Williams is leading the project. She wants to get as much community input as possible during the creation of the plan.
“We are going to provide many opportunities for citizens to share their ideas, including community meetings, an online survey, and chances to give feedback at community events this year,” Williams said. “The more community input we get, the better the plan will be.”
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The City of Lenoir covers 19.64 square miles. The population is 18,500. |
The comp plan will cover many topics, including the economy, housing, the environment, recreation, and transportation. The plan will include an updated land use map that will outline development types in Lenoir and identify neighborhoods for future Small Area Plans. The plan will give special focus to the West End and Whitnel neighborhoods in the city.
“The new comp plan will lay out the vision for how the Council, staff, and citizens want Lenoir to grow in the future,” Williams said. “The plan will set goals for housing, businesses and manufacturing, and address guidelines for community appearance. Once complete, the Council, Planning Board, and staff can refer to the plan when making decisions about new development in Lenoir. It’s important for citizens to get involved and share their input.”
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Across the Grain by Thomas Sayre stands on the corner of Harper Avenue and Church Street in Downtown Lenoir. The sculpture is 26-feet tall, 26-feet wide, and 3-feet thick. |
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To start gathering public input, staff is hosting two neighborhood workshop meetings and one community open house at the end of June. During the meetings, people will be able to meet the project team. The team will give a formal presentation about the comp plan and there will be interactive activities. The team will also share information about an online survey for the plan.
The West End Neighborhood Workshop will be held on Tuesday, June 25, 2024, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm in the Fellowship Hall at Mount Pilgrim Baptist. The church is located at 539 Willow St NW, Lenoir, NC 28645. The Whitnel Neighborhood Workshop will also be held on Tuesday, June 25, 2024, from 5:30 to 7:30 pm in the Media Center at Whitnel Elementary School. The school is located at 1425 Berkley St SW, Lenoir, NC 28645.
Anyone who lives in those neighborhoods or is interested in the future of West End and Whitnel is encouraged to attend.
The Community Open House will be held on Wednesday, June 26, 2024, in the Community Meeting Room at the Blue Ridge Energy District Office. The district office is located at 100 Cooperative Way, Lenoir, NC 28645. All Lenoir residents and business owners are invited to the open house.
There will be more opportunities to share input at community events including the North Carolina Blackberry Festival as well as an online survey.
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Lenoir is made up of a few dozen smaller neighborhoods. The new comp plan will give special focus to the West End and Whitnel neighborhoods. |
The City is working with an outside consultant, Freese and Nichols, to develop the comp plan. It will take about 15 months to finish the project.
Click the following link for more information about the plan, Living Lenoir 2045 Comp Plan.