By contrast, when the county initiated the Land-Use Plan initiative in the late 1990s, there was plenty of fanfare. Thousands of people attended dozens of meetings to iron out differences and focus on growth and developmental goals.
Behind that mammoth task loomed the specter of countywide zoning. The zoning ordinance went into effect shortly thereafter. Today, somebody cites the LUP every time the county considers requests for zoning changes.
Many rural residents remain uneasy about zoning. After all, it was adopted over the resistance of many people who resented any effort to control the use of their land. To these people, the zoning ordinance is too restrictive. To supporters, however, the ordinance appears far too lenient. They don’t realize the political liabilities the county would have confronted with a more restrictive ordinance.
You can’t please everybody, but you can try to reach a common denominator.
A Community Focus
Despite the lack of public attention this time around, the Small Area Planning endeavor may be even more important than the LUP.
Planning Board members and the Board of Commissioners agreed to start with what is known as Area A, 100 square miles encompassing West End, Seven Lakes, Jackson Springs and Eagle Springs. It is the fastest-growing section of the county, sprawling all the way from Pinehurst’s extraterritorial jurisdiction to the Montgomery County line and the county’s proximity to U.S. 220, soon to become Interstate 73-74.
Small Area Planning is simply the countywide LUP in miniature. The focus is on specific needs of a particular community, and the county is doing it one community at a time.
What do you want your community to be like in 25 years? That is the question County Planning Director Andrea Surratt asks at the introductory meetings. At these sessions, the planning staff is asking residents to state their preferences on promoting or curtailing residential and/or commercial growth, on encouraging agricultural endeavors, on pressing for highway improvements.
One loud hint heard at the first Area A meeting centered on a strong desire to avoid being “gobbled up” by the village of Pinehurst. Others mentioned interest in preserving the environment, historical landmarks and rural heritage. They want road improvements but want better planning to avoid the condemnation of huge expanses of land.
Step in Right Direction
The small area planning concept is catching on across North Carolina as the next step in land-use examination, which has long since moved from a simple planning exercise into an economic and social necessity. Though none of this is new to the state, the concept of examining the county community by community is new to Moore.
The county is still looking for steering committee members to put together an Area A land-use plan. Once that plan gets off the ground, Surratt and her staff will begin work on Area B, to encompass Lobelia Road and the rural environs of Vass. Next will come Area C, and on through the alphabet until all unincorporated areas are given an opportunity to look to the future and preserve their heritage.
Placing smaller communities under a collective magnifying glass makes it easier to see the emergence of practical solutions. It’s not a magic solution to the county’s growth problems, but it can be an important step in that direction.
