I love my neighborhood in Southern Pines. The houses are fairly close, arranged in the yards full of trees, with many old longleaf pines.

On a weekend morning I often enjoy a cup of coffee on my porch, while listening to the songs of birds, and I wave to the occasional passer-by. So many times I have thought how lucky I am to live in such a beautiful town. I have called Southern Pines home for more than 30 years, and would rather live here than anywhere else.

Over the past few years, an ever-increasing number of town-bound cars speed past my corner. Will we need a traffic light? How many more historic homes near me will be torn down, and will more multifamily units be built around me?

These are relatively new concerns in my neighborhood, and we find ourselves wondering how we might prepare for the challenges ahead.

My neighbor, Ed Monroe, shares my love for our town.

"Beauty, friendliness, and warmth are traits that I have always appreciated and hope continue," he says. "I look at our community as a haven for my growing 2-year-old daughter. What steps should this town take to ensure that her safety, quality of life, and education are protected? The speeding cars weigh heavily on my mind. Could these speeding cars also represent our community's lack of planning for its citizens?"

Having briefly left this area for college, graduate school, and to practice dentistry in Charlotte, Ed has seen firsthand the value and importance of planning for the future and setting parameters that represent the common will of a community.

"The voice of caring residents must be heard," says Ed, who helped me write this piece. "Our youth will someday be our civic leaders. I desperately want our town to grow in a fashion that respects the past but also welcomes the talents and needs of our new residents."

Southern Pines certainly is changing, and in short, faces a number of existing and emerging issues. Prompted by many reasons, including current and projected growth, long-term water issues, and community concerns about the impacts of PUD (Planned Unit Development) projects, the Southern Pines Town Council commissioned Studio Cascade, a firm from Spokane, Wash., to help the town establish a strategic, sustainable set of policies to guide us for the next 20 years.

Community Conversation

Since public outreach activity began in the fall of 2008, Southern Pines residents have participated in a variety of workshops and assignments. A 20-member Long-Range Plan Advisory Committee (AC), aided by Studio Cascade staff, has already set up booths at Springfest and First Friday celebrations, with plans to do so at a number of other events over the coming months, including the Southern Pines Farmers Market, and the upcoming Black Art Festival on Saturday, June 20.

With mini-polls and clipboard in hand, AC members have engaged folks at the downtown post office and elsewhere, and have made presentations to area groups and organizations. Although outreach efforts by the AC have been broadly based, attendance by citizens at planned workshops has been disappointing.

The push to finalize our plans is beginning, and participation by Southern Pines residents is of utmost necessity.

Initial results reveal that the residents of Southern Pines recognize that their individual and civic livelihood depends on their town's relationship with the natural environment. Our key natural features include streams, lakes, ground water recharge areas, native vegetation including the longleaf pine, and the large open spaces typical of Horse Country.

Unique Environmen t

Residents believe in the inherent value of such features, and intend for future development to work, on balance, to protect and enhance the aesthetic, biological, cultural, and utilitarian characteristics of the area's unique environment.

Residents of Southern Pines envision, as opportunity and growth provide, an extensive network of foot and bike paths, sidewalks and bicycle lanes. Plan policies will be used to support growth types and infrastructure leading to a more walkable, interconnected community.

In the long term, citizens support the development of public transit options within town limits and between county urban centers, and when possible, the development of new rail and airline options.

Southern Pines residents hope for a strong and healthy economy that builds on existing strengths, including the presence of numerous recreational opportunities, the relative affordability of land and housing, and high quality-of-life factors.

Residents envision economic development helping to diversify Southern Pines' economy as a whole, and note that as the community grows, a more diverse mix of incomes, ages and educational backgrounds could be sought to support the town's long-term vitality.

Downtown is recognized as the heart of the community, with the historic buildings and "main street" layout key to the town's identity. As such, new buildings and rehabilitation of existing buildings should complement the architecture and placement of the historic stock.

Residents see downtown continuing to be a place where residents and visitors alike gather frequently to shop at specialty stores, engage needed services, enjoy fine dining and entertainment options, and work and do business with small-scale, entrepreneurial businesses.

These are just a few of the concepts surfacing as participants consider nearly everything town government oversees, with public input evolving into guidelines for housing, transportation, recreation, public services, economic development, land use and zoning in Southern Pines.

Next: Public Workshops

The next phase of Southern Pines Long-Range Planning will involve a series of three public workshops slated as follows:

-- Wednesday, June 3, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., Southern Pines Recreation Center, 160 Memorial Park Court.

-- Thursday, June 4, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Douglass Community Center, 1185 W. Pennsylvania Ave.

-- Thursday, June 4, 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., Southern Pines Recreation Center, 160 Memorial Park Court.

This week's workshops will focus on important policy topics, with the introduction of a land-use concept map. The map will reflect Studio Cascades' current thinking regarding our community's needs, and might shift with public discussion and input.

The map will outline four main features for community consideration:

-- A distinct central business district, or downtown, reflecting the community's concern and hopes for that very unique place.

-- A traditional mixed-use district, for application to the Morganton Road and Pine Needles areas, communicating an expectation for walkable, interconnected and mixed development to occur in those areas.

-- An "urban reserve" district for application to the McCaskill Road and Elks Club "lost nine" areas, anticipating that any development decision made today for those pieces really should be deferred until more is known about what's going to surround it (McCaskill Road) and how much new development is really needed (Elks Club Property).

-- A revitalization mechanism of some sort for West Southern Pines to encourage reinvestment along the West Pennsylvania Avenue corridor and the edge of U.S. 1. The planners don't know yet how that will play out on the map, but see the section as a unique place, with very complex issues. Examples of ways forward might include the emergence of a specific West Southern Pines neighborhood planning effort or, possibly, a U.S. 1 corridor study.

Share Your Opinion

"As caretakers of this wonderful place," Ed Monroe says, "we all share a civic duty to see that features we highly regard are protected and enhanced. As neighbors, we all have a responsibility to address the changes that are going to happen over the next 20 years."

"Our committee needs your help. We need all of your talents, expertise, and life experiences rolled into the development of our Comprehensive Long Range Plan. No matter what your opinion, we invite you to share it at the workshops planned for the upcoming week. We hope to see you there!"

For more information about planning in Southern Pines, stop by the Studio Cascade drop-in center at 161 E. New Hampshire Ave., Southern Pines. Phone: 910-692-9807. Hours: 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday. Or visit us on the Web at: http://southern pines.studio cascade.com/

Ray Owen and his neighbor Ed Monroe serve on the Southern Pines Long-Range Planning Advisory Committee.