Mount Airy council, planning commission finalize edits to draft master plan; set timeline for December 30 final and Jan. 13 public hearing

Mount Airy council and the planning commission met in a joint workshop to review edits to the town's draft comprehensive master plan and agreed to a final schedule and several substantive changes.

The panel set a target delivery date of a final draft from the planning commission by Dec. 30 so the town and public have a two-week read-ahead before a public hearing scheduled for Jan. 13. The group repeatedly emphasized that the draft before them incorporated prior workshop work and edits provided in a Nov. 25 working session.

Why it matters: The comprehensive master plan will guide land-use policy, annexation expectations, and public-facility planning for the next 10 years. The workshop produced both editorial and policy clarifications the council said are needed before the plan goes to public hearing.

Major decisions and directions - Timeline: The planning commission will produce a final version by Dec. 30 to allow a two-week public review before the Jan. 13 public hearing. - Growth guideline: The council identified the plan's low-growth scenario as the guiding target and agreed to language that expresses a preference for a guideline of about 12 housing units per year, with the town code ceiling of 24 units per year retained as the maximum. Staff and commissioners framed this as a guideline tied to the town's infrastructure limits (water/sewer) rather than an absolute cap. - "Missing middle" objective removed: The council and commissioners agreed to delete the earlier, more prescriptive objective and extensive state-derived explanatory text on "missing middle" housing from the plan. The remaining draft will retain a short, definitional sentence (drawn from state language) explaining what the term means for readers,…