What is Charting Our Future?

Charting Our Future is a Town project to chart the next course and think about the future of Chapel Hill. This project gives the Town the opportunity to unite previous planning efforts, examine gateways into Chapel hill, and create cohesion among existing areas of development in the six focus areas.

The project has two phases. The first phase will refine the Future Land Use Map (FLUM), which was originally developed as the Land Use Plan in Chapel Hill 2020, the Town's Comprehensive Plan. This phase will be completed by the summer of 2020, when the Town council adopts the new map as an amendment to Chapel Hill 2020.

The second phase of the project will rewrite the Town's Land Use Management Ordinance (LUMO) with the goal of improving the Town's land use tools and processes so that they are more predictable, functional and intentional.

What is a Future Land Use Map?

A Future Land Use Map (FLUM) is a tool to manage future growth, implement the community vision, and identify areas to be preserved and areas of opportunity. The FLUM reflects a broad range of land uses, including residential, commercial, mixed use, industrial, and open space.

Typically, FLUMs are components of comprehensive plans, and Chapel Hill 2020 includes a Land Use Plan.  This refined FLUM will replace the Land Use Plan and will help to implement the vision of Chapel Hill 2020 (adopted in 2012).

Why does the Land Use Plan in Chapel Hill 2020 Need to be Refined?

The Town Council decided to start this project in 2017 because they recognized that the Land Use Plan in Chapel Hill 2020 needed to be enhanced to provide a clearer picture of Chapel Hill's future. The revised Future Land Use Map (FLUM) will act as a guide for future decisions in the six focus areas. Additionally, the Town's Land Use Management Ordinance is over thirty years old. It needs to be rewritten to provide the regulatory tools needed to make the vision in the FLUM a reality.

How Will the FLUM be Used?

The FLUM is the first step of the overall process to rewrite the Town’s Land Use Management Ordinance. The goal is to create a map that gives direction as land use decisions are considered.

How Can I Stay Involved?

One goal of the FLUM is to support the Town’s values, honor the community’s desires to protect what it loves most about the Town, and add what it needs to be successful now and into the future.

None of that can happen without you.

Throughout this process, the Town will hold informational meetings, workshops, and other events to present various, focused land use scenarios that have the potential to support Town values and policy goals. These events will give you the opportunity to learn about feasible land use options, gain an understanding of the inherent trade-offs that come with making land use decisions, and give feedback on the scenarios presented.

Use the check list below to make sure you’re staying “in the know.”

Check List