Draft comprehensive plan posts for public review; consultant says ~17,000 acres identified for conservation

Jonathan Whitehurst of Kimley‑Horn previewed the draft comprehensive land use plan for Gaston County’s unincorporated areas and asked the board to help promote the public review. He said the process lasted 14–15 months, included an advisory committee and more than 500 engagement touchpoints, and generated nearly 2,000 written comments and about 6,500 data points.

"The key piece of the overall comprehensive plan is your future land use map," Whitehurst said, explaining it is a non‑regulatory guidance document organized into nine land‑use classifications. He told the commission the plan assigns roughly 17,000 acres to conservation (about 12% of the unincorporated study area) and lays out 13 objectives and 42 strategies across four planning themes — responsible growth, economic prosperity, Gaston heritage and community well‑being. The draft will be posted on the project website tomorrow, go to the planning board on Aug. 31 and return to the commission Sept. 22 for further consideration.

Commissioners asked for the planning‑board presentation to be similar but with more time for technical review; Whitehurst said the planning board will have access to the full document before that meeting and that staff will make the slide deck available to commissioners. The presentation emphasized the plan covers only unincorporated areas (not municipal ETJs) and is intended to guide staff and elected officials when evaluating development proposals rather than create new regulatory controls.