Southern Pines Council listened to citizen input on the Comprehensive Long Range Plan for nearly an hour Tuesday evening during a public hearing, but declined to take any action on the plan.

Council kept the meeting open to allow more input at its next meeting in April. A majority of the 13 citizens who spoke during the meeting spoke in favor of the plan, while some raised questions about specifics of the plan, or the plan in general.

After the citizens had an opportunity to give input, all five members of the council spoke about the plan. Councilman Fred Walden seemed to express the most concern about the document saying that he had some questions that he needed answers to.

The public hearing was preceded by a brief presentation by Bill Grimes of Studio Cascade, the Washington-based consulting firm that helped craft the plan.

The process to create the plan began in August 2008. The new plan, when adopted, will serve as a guide for growth and development of Southern Pines for the next 20 years.