Community Consultation Key Element in Long-Term Plans for Cameron Village-Hillsborough St. “Revisioning”

UP’s Sallie Ricks (right) and Clodagh Bastian (standing, center) watch as Cameron Park resident George Chapman makes notes on the map during a table-top exercise.

Approximately 100 people from University Park, Cameron Park, NCSU and the Hillsborough St. districts shared ideas and debated solutions at a community planning workshop March 30 at the Talley Student Center on the NCSU campus. The workshop, or “charette,”was part of the Cameron Village-Hillsborough Street Small Area “revisioning” project. The purpose of the revisioning project is to review and update long-term plans for the Cameron Village-Hillsborough St. area. The current plan was developed in 1999.

Participants were divided into 12 groups gathered around tables with maps of the area. Guided by facilitators, the tables –with their mix of residents from the three neighborhoods , business owners, and students– reviewed and made recommendations regarding such issues as density, green space, parking, zoning, building height and configuration, sidewalks, and transportation.

The March 30 event was followed by another session on April 1 to review the results for the charette. The next phase is planned for June, when a preliminary draft report is expected to be presented. In the meantime, planners said they expect to launch further on-line questionnaires for more detailed feedback from the community. The revisioning project events are organized by the City of Raleigh planning department and conducted by an urban planning firm.