Guilford County Comprehensive Plan

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About the Project

The Guilford County Planning and Development Department is currently updating the County’s Comprehensive Plan. The Plan is intended as a guide for Guilford County to help ensure development within the County takes place in a manner that aligns with the community’s vision for both the built and natural environments over the next 15-20 years.

Over the course of Summer 2023, a Community Pulse Survey and six open-house workshops provided an opportunity for public input which will help shape and prioritize strategies for managing growth, community services, infrastructure, economic development, housing, natural resources, historic and cultural resources, and other elements.

The Draft Comprehensive Plan is now available for residents to review. Residents are encouraged to read the draft plan and provide feedback by completing a short survey by Saturday August 31, 2024.

View/download the Plan Draft July 2024.

Complete the short survey by August 31, 2024.

Complete la encuesta antes del 31 de agosto de 2024.

Virtual Community Meeting Recording

On Tuesday, July 30, 2024, the Guilford County Planning and Development Department hosted two Comprehensive Plan Update Community Meetings, one in-person meeting and one virtual meeting. Click below to watch a recording of the virtual community recording.

View/download the existing plan.
View/download existing plan 2006/2007 updates.
View/download Steering Committee Organizations/Agencies List

• Virtual Community Meeting - July 30, 2024 - 12:00PM-1:00PM - Register here

• Steering Committee Meeting #3 - May 2, 2024 - View agenda

• Steering Committee Meeting #2 - July 20, 2023 - View video | View agenda

• Workshop #1 - April 25, 2023 - View video | View summary

• Workshop - September 28, 2023 - View video

• BOC Comprehensive Plan Discussion - December 21, 2023 - View presentation

Planning and Engagement Process

Get In Touch!

Contact the Guilford County Planning and Development Department at 336-641-3635 or let us know your comments and questions at CompPlan@guilfordcountync.gov. If you would like a response, please provide your name and a phone number or e-mail address.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Comprehensive Plan and how will it be used?

The Comprehensive Plan is intended as a guide for the Guilford County Planning Board and Planning and Development Staff to help ensure development within the County takes place in a manner that is consistent with the vision and priorities of Guilford County’s citizens and property owners. This guide will be used to create policy recommendations and to support potential updates to the Unified Development Ordinance to be proposed to the Planning Board and Board of Commissioners.

Why is Guilford County required to go through this process?

Under NC General Statute 160D-501(a), local governments must adopt and reasonably maintain a comprehensive plan or land-use plan; therefore, the Plan is scheduled to be updated as required by the State. Additionally, the Comprehensive Plan is a tool used by the County to inform land use decisions and is intended to guide coordinated, efficient, and orderly development within the County based on an analysis of present and future needs by assessing trends regarding demographics, economic, environmental, and cultural factors.

What is the timeline for the Comprehensive Plan process?

Who is working on the Plan update and how were they selected?

Who are the stakeholders that will be engaged during the planning process?

To update the Plan, Guilford County and Design Workshop will engage with numerous stakeholder groups in the community. The process launched in March 2023 with a series of technical focus group meetings to help the consultant understand key issues facing the County. In addition, a Steering Committee will work collaboratively with the project team as an advisory group and as project ambassadors who will provide guidance and high-level perspective throughout the life of the project on key themes, challenges, and opportunities to be highlighted in the Plan update.

The general public will have an opportunity to provide input and feedback through a “Community Pulse” survey and during three community workshops at key milestones throughout the process to help planners understand broad community priorities.

How can I engage in the process?

Guilford County has ensured that there are many ways the community can engage in the plan development process. Consider attending the community workshops as well as completing the community survey. The time and location of meetings are updated on the page above as they are scheduled. Finally, once the final draft of the Plan update is complete, it will be presented to the Planning Board and the Board of Commissioners in a public meeting. The public will be given an opportunity to voice their opinions and provide input at these meetings. The Guilford County Planning and Development Department invites the public to reach out with any concerns or questions about the process by emailing CompPlan@guilfordcountync.gov.

Do changes to the land use designation or zoning of any property occur when any updates to the Plan are adopted?

Do changes to ordinances or processes occur when any updates to the Plan are adopted?