Planning for a bright future for Wake County will require a regional approach because our roads, water and air do not stop at our county’s borders. Regional cooperation with our municipalities as well as our neighboring counties must be developed in order to provide for efficient and effective delivery of public services and to ensure a good quality of life for all of us. Each of the following critical areas really must be addressed with a regional focus.

Education Excellence

• Request county empowerment from the General Assembly for alternative sources of revenue to help pay for public schools – such as a real estate transfer tax and other funding mechanisms.
• Increase K-12 funding.
• Improve government efficiency by giving authority to the school board to set the property tax rate for K-12 public schools.
• Counties and municipalities should work together on school construction planning. Municipalities should set aside land for new schools.
• Public Private Partnerships for school construction should be transparent to the public, and be approached with caution.

Open Space Preservation and Recreation

• Include $75 million bond referendum for open space on 2007 ballot.
• Implement impact fee on new development to help fund parks and open space, or require land (or cash in lieu of) set aside for parks.
• Protect Mark’s Creek for a county natural park.
• North Wake Landfill – Wake County should work with the City of Raleigh to create an active recreation park.
• Provide incentives for developers to provide recreation facilities within walking distance of new subdivisions.
• Partner with local municipalities and developers for joint use of recreational facilities, including schools.

Cost-Effective Development: Transportation & Land Use

• Plan for well-coordinated regional transportation system that incorporates different options for travel.
• Support Transit Infrastructure Blueprint initiative of CAMPO / DCHCMPO (Capital Area and Durham/Chapel Hill/Carrboro Metropolitan Planning Organizations).
• Provide incentives for new development along transit corridors.
• New highways should be very efficient and include elements such as High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) and toll lanes, rapid transit lanes, and where applicable, right-of-way for rail.
• Provide incentives for development that: minimizes traffic impacts and infrastructure costs, and is compact, walkable and mixed use.
• Develop a county growth management plan, focusing on future transportation needs and better coordination with the school system. Incorporate form-based zoning.

Environmental Quality

• Protect major drinking water supplies – both groundwater and surface water, including Falls Lake, Jordan Lake and supplies in Swift Creek (Lake Benson) and the Little River (Little River Reservoir). Plan for long-term funding for protection (such as bonds).
• Enforce erosion and sedimentation ordinance on new development, and strengthen regulations for storm-water retention during construction.
• Implement a county-wide storm-water management program similar to Wake County’s new stormwater program that promotes volume control and low impact development (LID) practices.
  Implement energy efficiency upgrades (LEED certified) in new and existing county facilities, including schools.
• Expand bio-diesel and fuel-efficient vehicles operated by the county.
• Plan for long-term water supply for all jurisdictions within the county, and include conservation measures.
  Strengthen tree conservation measures to protect mature trees.

Economic Fairness and Diversity

• Implement fair growth funding options (impact fees and transfer tax) to reduce the taxpayer subsidy of new growth infrastructure costs and other impacts.
• Provide incentives for mixed-income housing in new development.