Lane Street Project representatives attended last night’s public hearing about the 2043 Comprehensive Plan to express concerns about the future land use designations for the LSP cemeteries. The city’s presenters were receptive to questions, and, while some members of the planning board were sympathetic to our concerns, the board passed the Plan for consideration by Wilson City Council.

One thing that has been clarified since my original post: the map included in the Times‘ March 2 article about the hearing (and reproduced in my post) was not the 2043 future land use map, as labeled. Rather, it was the City’s 2030 land use map. The Times has since corrected the cutline in their online edition.

On the actual 2043 future land use map, the term “Vacant” has been replaced with “Open Space.” Here’s how the Plan defines Parks and Open Spaces:

Here is the portion of the 2043 future land use map that shows Bishop L.N. Forbes Street. (I added the labels for clarity.) Notice that Rest Haven, Masonic, and Hamilton Cemeteries and the run of Sandy Creek are hatched in green — the Parks and Open Space Overlay. Rest Haven, of course, is a public cemetery. Masonic and Hamilton are private, but neither is larger than ten acres. Also notice that neither Vick, Odd Fellows, nor Rountree Cemetery is designated as Open Space, despite the fact that Vick is a public cemetery. (And, collectively, the three cemeteries are 10+ acres.) Rather, they are shaded the maize of Medium-High Density Residential, like all the neighborhoods around them.

If this sounds familiar, that’s because I complained about this oversight in a blogpost back on September 17. Masonic, Hamilton, and Rest Haven were “fixed,” but the Lane Street Project cemeteries remain in future-use limbo.

How can the Parks and Open Spaces overlay be correctly applied to Vick, Odd Fellows, and Rountree Cemeteries before the 2043 Comprehensive Plan is approved by Council?