Apex (NC) Town Council Discusses Peak Plan 2055 Process Guiding Growth Over the Next 30 years
Council reviewed early survey results, public input, and next steps as Apex begins a multi-phase planning effort that will shape future land use, transportation, and growth decisions.
Apex, NC, Dec. 19, 2025 — During its December work session earlier this week, Apex Town Council members discussed the current status of the town’s Peak Plan 2055 (document) and where the process is headed. The long-range planning process is designed to help shape how Apex grows, develops, and invests through the middle of the century.
Discussion during the meeting focused on explaining what the plan is intended to do, how the process is structured, and what residents have said so far through surveys and public engagement. The Council made no decisions, but the meeting laid the foundation for policy choices to be considered in the months ahead.
What is Peak Plan 2055
Peak Plan 2055 is Apex’s update to its current Comprehensive and Transportation plans. It will replace documents and policies adopted in 2019. Together, these plans guide decisions on land use, transportation, housing, infrastructure, and public investment.
Consultants emphasized that the plan itself does not change zoning or approve development. Instead, it provides direction that informs future updates to development regulations, capital improvement priorities, and infrastructure planning. Under North Carolina law, municipalities must maintain an up-to-date comprehensive plan to support zoning authority.
How the plan is being built
Peak Plan 2055 is organized into three phases. The first phase focuses on gathering data and public input. The second phase involves creating and testing growth scenarios, and the final phase yields policy recommendations and implementation strategies.
Apex is currently transitioning from the discovery phase into scenario development. A citizen task force, town staff, consultants, and Council members are involved at key points throughout the process to review information and provide feedback.
Much of the afternoon’s work session was devoted to guiding council members through how public input is incorporated into each phase, particularly as the town prepares to evaluate different long-term growth scenarios.
Resident responses
Consultants presented results from the first round of public engagement, which included a community survey, focus groups, and public forums. More than 580 residents completed the survey, making it the effort’s largest single source of input to date.
Six themes emerged from the survey results:
Growth and balance - Residents frequently raised concerns about the pace and location of growth and whether Apex is adding enough non-residential development to support jobs, services, and a balanced tax base.
Housing - Survey responses showed strong interest in a wider range of housing options, including affordable housing, smaller homes, and senior-friendly designs. Many respondents expressed support for infill development, meaning new housing on underused land within existing developed areas.
Quality of life and community spaces - Parks, community centers, and gathering places ranked highly across nearly all engagement methods. Residents emphasized the importance of protecting downtown character while expanding amenities that support daily life.
Mobility and traffic - Traffic congestion ranked as the top transportation concern. Residents also called for improved sidewalks, greenways, bicycle facilities, and safer pedestrian crossings, particularly along NC 55.
Infrastructure and public services -Participants stressed that roads, schools, utilities, and public safety services need to keep pace with growth. During the meeting, discussions acknowledged the challenges of funding and timing infrastructure investments as development continues.
Environment - Environmental protection surfaced repeatedly. Preserving open space, tree canopy, farmland, and natural resources ranked among the highest priorities, with more than half of survey respondents identifying the natural environment as a top concern.
While sharing this with the Council, town staff and consultants emphasized that survey results are not treated as a vote but as one input among several, alongside data analysis, focus groups, and in-person forums.
From feedback to future maps
A key focus point of the discussion was what comes next in the process. Rather than advancing a single vision, the planning team will develop multiple growth scenarios that show how Apex could evolve. These scenarios will test trade-offs related to traffic, infrastructure costs, environmental impacts, and housing supply.
Scenario Planning (Examples)
Public feedback and task force input will also inform the preferred hybrid scenario. That scenario will inform the future land-use map and policy recommendations in the final Peak Plan 2055 document.
Why this meeting mattered
Although Peak Plan 2055 does not directly rezone property or approve development, the December work session made clear that the plan will influence nearly every major growth decision Apex makes over the next several decades.
By dedicating most of the work session to explaining the plan’s purpose, process, and early findings, Council signaled that long-range planning will play a central role in shaping Apex’s future before formal decisions are brought forward.
Additional public workshops, scenario presentations, and draft documents are expected in the coming months as the process continues.
Related Document:
Apex Peak Plan 2055 slide deck presented during Workshop (click here)
Town & Town Coucil Contacts:
Town Council Members (click here)
Town Manager (click here)