Kernersville designates October as Community Planning Month, invites public to comprehensive-plan open house Nov. 18

Mayor Don Morgan on Oct. 29 presented a proclamation designating October 2025 as "Margaret Burke's Kernersville Community Planning Month," praising the contributions of long-serving volunteers and professional planners and recognizing the work of the town’s planning board and board of adjustment.

The proclamation singled out Margaret Burke (spelled variously in the spoken record) for decades of civic service, noted the value of volunteer review at public hearings and the contribution of modern tools such as GIS mapping to planning and stormwater analysis, and thanked planning staff for their work on the town’s comprehensive-plan update. Catherine Garner and members of the planning board and board of adjustment were invited forward for the recognition.

Catherine Garner confirmed the board’s invitation to an open house on the comprehensive-plan update at the Botanical Gardens on Nov. 18 from 6 to 8 p.m., described as a drop-in meeting for residents to share opinions about development, and encouraged broad participation.

Why it matters

The recognition highlights ongoing work on a comprehensive-plan update, provides a public outreach opportunity (Nov. 18 open house) and reiterates the role of volunteer boards in reviewing rezoning and development proposals. The mayor and staff framed planning as central to future infrastructure and redevelopment decisions.

Attribution

Quotes and remarks in this article are attributable to Mayor Don Morgan (presentation of the proclamation) and Catherine Garner (announcement of the open house and thanks to staff), as recorded at 00:16:41 and 00:21:33 in the meeting transcript.

Next steps

Staff will continue public-engagement work on the comprehensive-plan update and host the open house on Nov. 18 at the Botanical Gardens from 6 to 8 p.m.