In 2017, The Mid-Carolina Council of Governments and the Fort Bragg Regional Land Use Advisory Commission selected Benchmark Planning to assist with the development of a Joint Land Use Study for the communities surrounding Fort Liberty (formerly Fort Bragg). Fort Liberty is a major US Army installation covering an area of over 251 square miles and containing over 162,000 acres of land. It has the largest military population of any US Army post - approximately 145,519 people in 2014 (including both soldiers and their dependents). Over the past thirty years, Fort Liberty has experienced a huge construction boom and the massive growth has spawned much private sector development in the surrounding communities, particularly in the five-mile area encircling Fort Liberty's boundaries. As much of the ensuing development may be incompatible with the military training mission, the JLUS examined a range of potential impacts and made recommendations to promote and protect the military training mission.
After adopting the JLUS, the Mid-Carolina Council of Governments and the Fort Bragg Regional Land Use Advisory Commission selected Benchmark to assist with the implementation of the Fort Bragg Joint Land Use Study (JLUS). The project focused on the implementation priorities identified in the 2018 JLUS, promoting compatible land use throughout the six-county region surrounding Fort Bragg. The study included the development of an online case management and tracking system, an organizational strategic plan, comprehensive plan amendments, and the development of a compatible growth ordinance toolbox. After Benchmark assisted the surrounding municipal and county governments in adopting the recommendations of the JLUS Implementation Plans, they assisted the Regional Land Use Advisory Commission with case management and response.
