Week of 3/20/02
   
 
 
Waynesville land plan goes to aldermen
By Scott McLeod
Waynesville officials took one more step Monday, March 18, toward adopting a land-use plan that establishes goals and objectives for guiding future growth in and around the city limits.

The town planning board held a public hearing on the plan March 18, inviting public comment on the document that is the result of meetings and workshops which were first held in 1999. A formal public hearing will be held by town aldermen on April 9.

The plan discussed this week is separate from the new set of zoning ordinances that are still being developed. The zoning ordinances — which will divide the town into about 25 different planning districts that will allow a wide variety of uses — will follow the principals laid out in the land-use plan. The land-use plan, though, does not contain any new regulations. It does provide the philosophical underpinnings for the new zoning regulations, which are expected to be completed by late summer of this year.

“It is important to remember that this plan is not static,” said Julia Cogburn, a senior planner with Benchmark, the private firm which has helped the town develop the plan. “This plan will require major updates every four years, and will need to be reviewed at least once a year.”

The land-development plan is based on smart growth principles, and the major 10 principles of smart growth are contained in the plan. They include goals like promoting mixed land uses, taking advantage of compact design, creating walkable neighborhoods, preserving open space, and directing development towards existing communities.

Philann Medford, a member of the land-use task force, told planning board members it is critical that they understand the smart growth principles upon which the plan is based.

“Planning board members should be able to recite the smart growth principles listed on page 1.3 of the plan,” said Medford. “If you are going to encourage people to adopt and support something, you should know what’s in it.”

Roscoe Wells told the planning board that a good land-use plan will help bring jobs to the area.

“If we don’t protect quality of life, then we won’t get what jobs are out there. So many times we are using the wrong tools to chase jobs,” said Wells.

Lynn Noland, who owns land in the town’s extraterritorial jurisdiction and who says zoning rules have hindered past development plans, worries that the new plan will hinder job creation.

“We’ve lost our job base, and I don’t see any indication that this plan is advocating anything that will change that,” said Noland.

“It is very disappointing,” said Noland.

Planning board chairman Rex Feichter, however, disagreed with Noland. He argued that a good land-use plan will make Waynesville attractive to would-be businesses and industry.

“I think this is one step in the right direction. We are putting things in order so that we can do what we can to attract potential jobs,” said Feichter.