Plans & Ordinances

Historic District Design Guidelines

The Town of Wake Forest takes pride in the unique architectural and historical aspects of its identity and has worked over the years to protect and enhance its architectural and cultural heritage. Various civic groups, the Chamber of Commerce, and local government advisory boards have maintained and improved many of the town’s visual and physical qualities, while also promoting community awareness of and appreciation for the town’s history and architecture. Recently, Wake County’s surging growth has motivated Wake Forest to realize that while a larger population provides many benefits, it also brings the danger of being consumed into an amorphous conglomerate where all unique identity is lost. Thus, the efforts to protect and enhance the town’s historic buildings have had to become more thorough and extensive. These guidelines are one step toward preserving the architectural heritage that Wake Forest must cherish if it wishes to remain a unique and intact community.

Land Development Plan

The Land Development Plan is designed to guide those involved in growth management in the Town of Wake Forest. The goals and policies are general in nature but should provide guidelines (framework) on which to base decisions for urban growth. This document intends to encourage orderly urban growth in areas where all services can be provided adequately and efficiently.

Land Use Management Plan

The Town of Wake Forest first set forth in July of 1986 to formulate a comprehensive land use plan for a 15-year period to be used as an effective growth management tool. The following report documents the process through which land management plans were developed, outlines the reasoning for the direction taken, attempts to anticipate some of the seemingly inherent weaknesses which accompany such plans and offers suggested guidelines to overcome them. Updated 1996.

Land Planning Resources Map
Conceptual Objectives Map

NC 98 Bypass Corridor Plan

The NC 98 Bypass Corridor Plan for the Town of Wake Forest encompasses the area along the NC 98 Bypass between its western terminus at Thompson Mill Road and its eastern terminus just east of Jones Dairy Road. The corridor, with the exception of the area south of the Bypass east of US 1, falls within the jurisdiction of the Town of Wake Forest. The width of corridor considered is approximately one-half mile on each side of the Bypass.

The major goals of the Corridor Plan are the following:

1. To preserve and enhance the visual quality of the corridor so as to create welcoming gateways into the community and a pleasant passage for all,

2. To create an east-west pedestrian and bike route on each side of the corridor, with connections across the highway to trail and sidewalk networks north and south of the corridor,

3. To facilitate the vehicular transportation function of the corridor, including regional flow along the Bypass and connections to the Town of Wake Forest, and

4. To encourage development within this corridor that is compatible with the first three goals.

Open Space & Greenways Plan

The Town of Wake Forest Open Space and Greenways Master Plan was prepared in order to protect the natural and cultural resources that community residents value most.

There are three principal goals of the plan:

1. identify parcels and corridors of land that are in need of protection and conservation measures;

2. establish a comprehensive approach that will link greenspace lands and corridors to residential, commercial, institutional and central business areas of the community; and

3. define a concise set of strategies for protecting and conserving these corridors and at the same time developing public use facilities that would provide residents with access to these lands and corridors.

Parks & Recreation Master Plan

The purpose of the Parks and Recreation Master Plan Update is to review, refresh and expand the framework for Town leaders and the Parks and Recreation staff to use as they chart the course for programming, maintenance and development of the park system over the next 10 years. The planning effort is a deliberate means to step back so to assess progress made and determine needs. The planning effort is also a means to inject public input into the process of programming and developing a parks system so that the Town leaders and staff stay attuned to specific interests and broader sentiments of the citizens they ultimately serve. The plan itself serves as a foundation for budget projections and for grant applications. The Town has been repeatedly successful in being awarded grants for recreational purposes. This success, in significant part, is founded upon the commitments expressed in previous master plan documents and the direct links between such commitments and actual accomplishments. This plan will build upon and reinforce such commitments.

Parks & Recreation Master Plan Map

Pedestrian Plan

The purpose of the Pedestrian Plan is to make an accessible, safe, convenient, interconnected and functional pedestrian transportation system, ultimately contributing to a higher quality living environment. Walking is more than a means of getting from one place to another; walking facilitates healthful living habits, conserves energy while improving air quality, and builds strong communities by increasing social interaction.

            Chapter 1 - Introduction

            Chapter 2 - Existing Conditions

                              Map

            Chapter 3 - Existing Plans & Policies

            Chapter 4 - Pedestrian Network Plan

                              Map 1

                              Map 2

                              Map 3

                              Map 4

            Chapter 5 - Design Guidelines

            Chapter 6 - Program & Policy Recommendations

            Chapter 7 - Implementation

            Appendix A - Summary of Public Input

            Appendix B - Network Prioritization

            Appendix B - Pedestrian Facility Prioritization Index

            Appendix C - Funding Sources

            Appendix D - Cost Estimates

            Appendix D - Pedestrian Facility Cost Estimate Index

Renaissance Plan for the Heart of Wake Forest 

The purpose of the Renaissance Plan is twofold. First, the plan seeks to provide policy and programmatic recommendations for the revi­talization of and the encouragement of reinvestment into the historic downtown. Secondly, this publicly driven revitalization plan proposes a number of realistic development opportunities specifically targeted throughout the heart of the Wake Forest community which are aimed at creating a more vibrant community to engage all who visit, work, and live in this special place.

Urban Code Handbook

Final Transportation Summary Report
Plan Poster
Demographic Overview
Demographic Income Information
Demographic Charts
Consumer Expenditures

Transportation Plan

The goal of the Wake Forest Transportation Plan is to envision a future transportation system focusing on the following objectives:

·         Develop a plan compatible with future land use plans and adjacent jurisdictions’ plans.

·         Create a plan that accommodates community growth and its related traffic increases.

·         Create a system of interconnected streets (thoroughfares, collectors. And local streets).

·         Preserve future transportation corridors.

·         Maintain and improve roadway safety.

Transportation Plan Map

US-1 Corridor Plan

The overall purpose of the Corridor Plan is to identify ways to preserve and improve the appearance and function of the Corridor by establishing design standards and guidelines for development of the Corridor landscape, with a focus on site appearance and function rather than on land use categories.

The Corridor Plan, therefore, has three major goals;

1. to facilitate the transportation function of the Corridor, including the regional flow along U.S. 1 and the connections to the Town of Wake Forest,

2. to preserve and enhance the visual quality of the Corridor so as to create a pleasant passage for all and a welcoming gateway to the community, and

3. to encourage development within this Corridor that is compatible with the first two goals.