Growth Management & Economic Vitality

1. Enhance, attract, and engage diverse economic development opportunities.

• Initiative 1.1: Concentrate business recruitment efforts and site-readiness programs in the target industries of Wake County Economic Development, specifically Life Sciences, Advanced Manufacturing, IT & Technology, Clean Tech & Smart Grid, and Corporate or Divisional headquarters.
• Initiative 1.2: Be a development resource to support, sustain, and grow small businesses, start-ups, and entrepreneurs.

2. Create a vibrant downtown center.

• Initiative 2.1: Facilitate multi-modal accessibility to the downtown center, with an emphasis on walkability, pedestrian and bicycle safety.
• Initiative 2.2: Enhance the public spaces and character of the downtown area through investments in signage, streetscapes, branding, and civic spaces as outlined in the Downtown Area Plan.
• Initiative 2.3: Explore partnerships and funding opportunities to advance investments in the downtown such as a public market, additional downtown parking, creating a festival street, and further development of Mims Park.
• Initiative 2.4: Advance feasibility analysis and design for a festival street investment on Avent Ferry Rd.

3. Plan, maintain, and invest in sustainable and resilient water, sewer, and stormwater infrastructure.

• Initiative 3.1: Develop a coordinated long-range master plan for water, wastewater, reclaimed, and stormwater systems.
• Initiative 3.2: Develop a water, sewer, and reclaimed asset management plan to ensure system integrity and identify needed maintenance and investments to handle future growth.

4. Support land use planning, policies, and partnerships that provide for sustainable and economic growth while balancing small town characteristics.

• Initiative 4.1: Pursue a residential/non-residential tax base ratio of 70%/30%.
• Initiative 4.2: Evaluate and identify potential modifications to Vision Holly Springs Comprehensive Plan Section 1: Land Use & Character to support greater housing diversity, specifically along transportation corridors and targeted economic development areas.
• Initiative 4.3: Establish criteria for Area Median Income (AMI) and percentage of workforce housing units within a development in order for a development project to be considered for fee or improvement credits.
• Initiative 4.4: Develop streamlined customer engagement processes for simple building or renovation permit requests and specialized customer service approaches to assist non-building industry experts in navigating permitting processes.
• Initiative 4.5: Develop policies, procedures, and/or mitigation strategies for management of property nuisance abatement.

5. Partner with neighbors to promote smart regional transportation infrastructure investments.

• Initiative 5.1: Complete the Main St. right turn lane, NC-55 Bypass right turn lane, Avent Ferry Rd pedestrian improvements, and Holly Springs Rd. East bond projects.
• Initiative 5.2: Support an efficient and connected local and regional multi-modal transportation system through engagement on projects including the NC-540 Southeast Extension and Wake Transit Plan.
• Initiative 5.3: Deploy pedestrian safety devices and traffic control measures to enhance pedestrian and bicycle safety.
• Initiative 5.4: Develop a network for an innovative and intelligent transportation system with NCDOT to assist in managing traffic congestion.
• Initiative 5.5: Complete construction of Holly Springs Rd “Central” widening (Flint Point Lane to Main St).
• Initiative 5.6: Complete design of Holly Springs Rd “West” widening (NC-55 Bypass to Main St).
• Initiative 5.7: Explore roadway priority investments to include Cass Holt Rd, Sunset Lake Rd, and Main St “diet” streetscape (on-street parking / pedestrian improvements).
• Initiative 5.8: Seek financial and implementation partnerships for the creation of a micro-transit transportation mobility option.