News

Make your voice heard in 2045 Comp Plan

By Henderson County Planning Department, Published: October 29, 2021

Henderson County is drafting a new Comprehensive Plan!

The updated plan projects to the year 2045 and will serve as a guide for growth and development in addition to offering recommendations related to housing, economic development, natural resources, recreation, and more.

Click here to fill out the survey.

This plan is a legally required document that is the backbone for land development regulations. The County’s process for creating this document is divided into three phases over 18 months. Phase 1 is from July through December and includes robust public participation in addition to baseline data gathering and analysis. The County aims to gather as much public input as possible to ensure that the plan is public-driven and accurately reflects the community character and vision. A county-wide surveyed was mailed with the real and personal property tax bills in August, which is also available online. If you have not taken the survey, please consider participating.  In the winter and spring of 2022, the “visioning” process will begin, and the public will be asked to provide input on various draft components of the plan.

County Commissioner Bill Lapsley stated, “The Board of County Commissioners have relied on the 2020 County Comprehensive Plan to guide the growth & development of our county over the past 20 years.  It is time that we assess how we have done following that plan and update the actions we need to take in the future to protect our community in the years to come.” Chairman Lapsley further impressed the need for public participation, “We need input from all our citizens to guide the County staff, consultant, and Commissioners in developing this new updated document.  Please take the time now to express your thoughts and opinions on the various elements of the plan.  You can attend one of the various community meetings or send your input via the survey that is available online.”

During this first phase, Henderson County hosted five open house events in different areas of the County and will do three more in November. Please drop-in on any Open House Event convenient for you and your family, friends, coworkers, etc. The locations are not community specific. The events are set-up so that each activity is self-guided, but staff will be available for questions and discussion. The information gathered from these events will be analyzed and recorded as part of the plan. Kids are welcome to attend.

"A great Comprehensive Plan requires citizenship input along with the input from many others within the county, this is what is needed in our 2045 Comprehensive Plan" – Steve Dozier, Planning Board Chairman

An Open House Event will be held 4-6 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 9, at the Etowah Library

In addition to Open House Events, the County and its consultant are facilitating two public workshops. These meetings will have a different format and can be attended in conjunction with another open house event. The meeting on November 10^th will be held in-person at Blue Ridge Community College in the Blue Ridge Conference Hall. The meeting on December 9^th is a virtual option and will be held using a Zoom platform. These meetings will have the same content, so you only need to attend one.

Public workshops will be held:

• 4-7 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 10, at Blue Ridge Conference Hall at Blue Ridge Community College
• 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 9, virtually. A link is on the county website.

Please contact Janna Bianculli, Senior Planner, with any questions at jbianculli@hendersoncountync.gov.