News

The City of Raleigh recently released “Reflecting Raleigh,”  a report listing key takeaways from Phase 2 of creating the city’s next comprehensive land-use plan.

For the past year, Neuse Riverkeeper Samantha Krop has been a part of the process.

Samantha joined city staff from the stormwater department, Parks and Rec and sustainability program, along with a few other stakeholders to talk about the city’s key issues in the context of growth and land use.

“I appreciated the opportunity to participate,” Samantha said. “It’s an envisioning document. It’s our guiding light. It should be strong; it should be forward-thinking and make sure it paints a picture of the city we want to see in the future. This is the importance of comprehensive land-use planning: getting in at the first line of defense.”

Samantha’s role on Raleigh Stormwater Management Advisory Committee led to the being a part of the discussion about Raleigh’s future. The group was one of five Technical Teams that met six times over Phase 2.

“We identified key issues, identifying the places where we could strengthen the comprehensive plan to better protect natural resources,” Samantha said. “The report is a summary of our, and the other teams’, recommendations.”

Key themes that emerged were protecting more of Raleigh’s trees (critical to water quality) and better identifying and mapping endangered and threatened species, as well as critical habitats.

Read the entire Phase 2 report here.

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