Forsyth County officials brief commissioners on Forward 2045 comprehensive plan ahead of adoption vote

Forsyth County planning staff on Aug. 25 briefed commissioners on Forward 2045, a joint city–county comprehensive plan the county will consider for adoption at the board’s upcoming meeting. Amy Crum, assistant planning director, said the plan is an aspirational, policy-level guide and does not itself change zoning or development ordinances.

The plan reflects more than four years of research and outreach, Crum told commissioners, including an online survey with about 2,900 participants and “over 4,000 written comments,” 20 public input meetings, nine stakeholder meetings and outreach at community events. Chris Murphy, planning director, said the county delayed bringing the plan forward until completion of an HDR study whose findings resulted in some map updates.

Crum said Forward 2045 is organized around five vision themes — attainable housing and stable neighborhoods; strong economic opportunities; connected and accessible spaces; vibrant character and identity; and a sustainable, healthy environment — and three implementation principles: equity, livability and resiliency. “The comprehensive plan is the official public document that guides growth and development. I want to stress the word guide. It is not a policy document that makes any sort of change to zoning districts or ordinances,” Crum said.

The staff presentation emphasized the county’s constrained land supply: Forsyth County is fourth in population among comparable peers but 60th in land area, and staff estimated the county is “approximately about 75% built out.” That constraint informed recommendations to prioritize development where water and sewer infrastructure already exists and to preserve rural and agricultural areas.

Staff proposed updates to the county’s Growth Management Area (GMA) map. Crum said six changes were made; examples included small areas west of Lewisville and near Clemens that were moved to GMA 3 because sewer projects are planned or underway, and a larger area north and northeast of the county that was shifted because construction of a regional beltway has altered development pressure. “Once a land has been serviced by public sewer, it automatically gets changed to GMA 3,” Crum said, describing an existing department policy.

Crum described the plan’s implementation section as intentionally non‑prescriptive and flexible. It provides topic- and area-based guidance that planners and other departments can use for subsequent area plans, transportation and topic-specific plans. She said staff intends to begin area plans this fall and has a goal of starting two per year given existing staffing and public-engagement demands.

Commissioners asked about accessory dwelling units (ADUs), farmland preservation and how tree canopy goals would be balanced against higher-density housing requests. Crum said the plan does not itself adopt ADU changes countywide but supports studying ADUs in the county; she noted the city already amended ADU rules. On farmland preservation she said staff engaged agricultural stakeholders during outreach but did not perform a parcel-level land-use survey; implementing preservation may require other county efforts such as voluntary agricultural districts or a funded farmland-preservation program. On tree canopy versus density, staff said developers may use tools such as planned residential developments (PRDs) with open-space requirements to meet both housing and tree-preservation objectives, while noting every rezoning request would be evaluated case-by-case and the ultimate decision rests with elected bodies.

The planning board adopted Forward 2045 on Sept. 12, 2024, and the city council adopted the plan in November 2024, according to staff. With adoption by the commissioners, staff said, parcel-specific area plans and ordinance amendments could follow as implementation steps.