Taking a focus on resident and University involvement, the Chapel Hill Town Council came one step closer to updating the town’s comprehensive plan Thursday night.
The council is creating an initiative committee to keep the planning process on task and motivated, but specifics on the committee have not yet been decided.
Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt said he hopes to see students and other youth take an active role in the committee, while council member Donna Bell said she would like to see a strong minority presence.
“We are going to try and seat a group that grabs all interests of our community,” Kleinschmidt said.
After discussions of the plan began at this year’s annual town council retreat, council members agreed updating the document should be a well-planned and inclusive process — especially after the 2000 comprehensive plan failed to meet their expectations.
Senior Vice President of the National Civic League Derek Okubo said the University should play a role as early as the initiative committee.
“They have to be worker bees who focus on process and logistic, not content,” he said on role of the initiative committee.
Kleinschmidt said he spoke to UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp about obtaining assistance from the School of Government and other University entities.
“They are on standby as another resource for us that we have not effectively tapped into in the past” Kleinschmidt said.
