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FEBRUARY
29, 2000
I volunteered
to be the sacrificial lamb tonight, by bringing before the Commissioners
the most controversial, most difficult, and most inescapable conclusion
of the Blue Ribbon Committee's findings. In every area of our research;
the focus of a majority of our guest speakers, all experts in their
respective fields; and by comments and input from folks in our home
communities, we are directed to the missing hub of the wheel: effective
land use planning.
The
recommendation for land use planning is neither new, radical, or
the result of "outsiders telling us what to do". Planning has been
the centerpiece of four previous studies, the most recent in 1992
titled "Growing With A Plan". Many of our group's observations,
concerns and conclusions are identical to those contained in that
document. The question tonight is - where is the plan?
Every
issue of The Mountain Times over the last year and a half has contained
at least one article addressing an item of controversy. The Planning
Board and you, the Board of Commissioners, are faced with a new
crisis at virtually every meeting. The level of citizen frustration
and indeed anger notches up with every new or perceived threat to
our way or quality of life. Among the recent issues have been:
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Maymead's
attempt to locate in a residential area adjacent to the New River,
an incomparable resource with both Historic and Scenic River designations;
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an enormous 150,000 square foot shopping center on the Watauga River at the Twin Rivers development in Foscoe;
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Three Guys multi-occupancy apartments on Howards Knob, a designated watershed;
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a sexually oriented business in Deep Gap.
EVERY
THREAT HAS BEEN THE RESULT OF NO OVERALL LAND USE PLAN.
This
failure has set neighbor against neighbor, community against community.
The arguments have become increasingly corrosive and heated, with
amiable resolution harder and harder to achieve. To quote one of
my favorite people, Wiley Roark, VP of Maymead, regarding the company's
position on the proposed location of the asphalt plant on Roby Green
Road: "IT'S YOUR OWN FAULT. THIS COUNTY HAS NO ZONING AND
WE CAN PUT THIS PLANT WHERE WE PLEASE. NO ONE CAN STOP US."
The
towns of Boone, Blowing Rock, Beech Mountain and Seven Devils have
zoning regulations; the Foscoe-Grandfather Community has a zoning
ordinance. The remainder of the County has the option of community
councils.
While
community councils are an excellent concept, there has been mixed
success as to their formation. Councils have no real authority:
only the power to petition the commissioners for approval of a general
land use plan on behalf of the community. In and of themselves,
councils have no regulatory or enforcement authority. The Planning
Board and the Board of Commissioners can - and do - override community
decisions. As "sprawl'' churns out into previously pristine and
relatively unthreatened areas, and as the incidents of inappropriate
development increase, the concept of community councils may regain
popularity; but citizens need greater assurance that their wishes
will be upheld.
We
are sprawling, and we are getting uglier by the day. We are being
imprinted with the featureless corporate sameness of Any Town, Anywhere,
and the equally unappealing proliferation of subdivisions across
the face of every slope and every hilltop in sight. Our small town
charm and rural uniqueness is being taken away from us because we
are allowing others to dictate our future - because we have no plan.
We
can no longer allow the few to maximize their profits at the expense
of what we hold dear: our environment, our water quality, our irreplaceable
farm lands, our wildlife habitats - and most importantly, our people.
What has, what can be done to assist those middle and low income
families who cannot afford the vastly inflated prices generated
by a soaring second-home market, and are being forced off their
land, out of trailer parks, and out of the county by economic forces
beyond their control? No one has come up with an equitable solution
to that dilemma.
One
sure thing is that any land use regulation, however mild, will be
met with opposition. I've always felt that one reason Maymead fought
CAP tooth and nail was to prevent a dangerous precedent from being
set: Maymead dare not let people know that they have power, that
they can organize, fight, and win. It is important to recognize
that a corporate entity - indeed any business - has no morality,
no emotion. It exists for one purpose and one purpose only: to make
money. To that one goal business directs all its efforts - to achieve
maximum bang for the buck in the cheapest, quickest way possible.
For this reason business, all business, will resist with vigor any
attempt at regulation. As if landscape islands with trees would
break the corporate back of Wal-Mart!
Because
business seldom does the right thing on a voluntary basis, government
has had to step in and create a staggering body of laws to protect
everything that needs protection, from child labor laws to seat
belts to air and water quality standards and yes, even that landscaped
island in Wal-Mart's parking lot.
Residential
developers sing the same song, saying they'll "go broke" if any
more regulations are placed on them. Anyone who has actually read
the Watauga County Subdivision Regulations will see that they aren't
nearly onerous enough. They are probably "bare bones" as far as
regulations go, and would benefit from a serious overhaul that should
include:
on-site
visitation to proposed development BEFORE it gets off the ground,
to assess site suitability for the projected use;
slope,
aspect, elevation and other topographical data;
follow-up
site inspection(s) to monitor compliance.
There
are as many ways to initiate and develop a land use plan as there
are communities willing to work together to preserve and protect
their vision of themselves. One avenue of exploration I would encourage
the Commissioners to review and consider is contained in the 1992
'"Growing With A Plan" report, entitled "Charting a New Course in
Virginia Zoning, The Bedford County Land Use Guidance System": LUGS
for short.
More
suitable for rural areas than traditional zoning, which creates
single or limited mixed use of property within rigidly drawn boundaries,
more conducive to dense urban development, performance zoning such
as LUGS allows mixed use of property within a compatibility scale.
A brief overview of the basic steps are as follows.
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An
assessment is made of each proposed project site, particularly
in relation to its anticipated impact on the surrounding area;
on roads, schools, water and sewer, essential services, and the
environment.
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A public assessment of compatibility is achieved by a meeting between the developer and neighboring property owners, with the goal of achieving a consensus on the design to make it compatible with surrounding land uses; the results of this meeting are binding.
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Next, the consensus plan goes to the planning commission or Board of Commissioners who can then approve as submitted, attach their own conditions, or deny. Performance standards are set by the Planning Board and are part of the County's Comprehensive Plan.
PERFORMANCE
ZONING IS LESS INTRUSIVE OF INDIVIDUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS AND HAS THE
BENEFIT OF INVOLVING THOSE PERSONS MOST AFFECTED BY A DEVELOPMENT
A VOICE IN THE PLANNING PROCESS. LUGS-type planning allows all
rural property owners the maximum economic benefit of their land
within uniformly applied guidelines.
In
no particular order and without citing the people responsible for
the comments or observations, I would like to quickly touch on some
of the concerns that have been discussed and have been cited as
areas that need special consideration, either to be included in
the general land use plan, as possible stand-alone ordinances, or
as matters already regulated that need stronger enforcement.
WATERSHED
PROTECTION: top of the list. All four town spokespersons, many
of our guest speakers, members of our own group, and every organized
community council cited water quality as a top priority. This finite
and vital natural resource must be protected. Calls were made for:
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increased
monitoring and control of siltation, runoff, storm water abatement,
failing septic tanks;
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upgrading fishing waters;
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increasing construction setbacks.
FARMLAND
PROTECTION: as the land most vulnerable to developers, North
Carolina is losing its irreplaceable farmland at the rate to 500
acres a day. Watauga County needs to protect its rapidly diminishing
farms through such measures as:
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encourage
individuals to look at Farmland Preservation Trusts as a way to
pass down their farming heritage;
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pass a county Voluntary Farmland Preservation ordinance;
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help develop and support farm-oriented business, including agri-tourism.
PRESERVATION
OF WILD PLACES THROUGH CONSERVATION TRUSTS AND INDIVIDUAL CONSERVATION
EASEMENTS. We must act NOW to preserve headwaters, river bottoms,
watersheds, ridge lines, wildlife habitats, scenic viewsheds and
other significant natural resources. Land owners who create these
easements enjoy significant tax relief on the state and federal
level, as well as substantial tax benefits for their heirs.
TRANSPORTATION:
increased accessibility leads to increased land value, which leads
to land use changes, which leads to increased traffic, which creates
increased traffic conflict, which causes deteriorated roads, which
leads to improved roads: and the cycle begins again. The lesson?
Be careful what you four-lane? Several concerns were voiced for:
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corridor
protection along highways and major roads to preserve green areas
and viewsheds;
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encourage cluster rather than strip development;
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create restricted access (a safety issue);
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as major roads are widened and improved, obtain enough additional right-of-way easement for alternative transportation, walking and biking.
SLOW
DEVELOPMENT BY DEMANDING DEVELOPER RESPONSIBILITY: developers
should be required to: * provide an environmental impact statement;
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assess
the impact on roads, schools, fire and police services;
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provide a water source for fire trucks in remote locations;
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provide a reasonable ratio of green area in the form of parks, trails, setbacks from water sources;
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preservation of natural habitats or unique features, such as old-growth trees;
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commercial developers should provide demographic support for their planned development. (Eckerd's at University Village was allowed to destroy a beautiful old-growth woods with no need shown for a store in that location; there was available retail space available in New Market Center; that location is closing.)
ADDITIONAL
FUNDS TO INCREASE STAFFING at Planning and Inspections to allow
them to be proactive rather than reactive, and enforce regulations
and ordinances already on the books. As it stands now, they are
able only to react to citizen complaints. Also, many of the ordinances
are admittedly weak - the sign and junk car ordinances being examples.
Perhaps this is a good time to review, overhaul and strengthen all
county ordinances.
We
are asking you to have the vision, the courage, and the determination
to develop a comprehensive plan to save Watauga County from itself.
Development does not have to continue unabated, unplanned and out
control.
WE
ARE NOT ASKING YOU TO MAKE POPULAR DECISIONS, JUST THE RlGHT DECISIONS.
The issue of land use planning can no longer be sidestepped, ignored,
in the hopes it will go away. We must, each and every one of us,
consider the consequences of our actions - is what we do now going
to make this place better? Of one fact we must be ever mindful:
ONCE THE LAND IS GONE, IT IS GONE FOREVER.
Respectfully
submitted,
Kristi Cook, Member
Blue Ribbon Commission on Growth Issues
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