<< Back 5/22/02 Missing a chance to set the stage for future growth SMN Waynesville has worked long and hard on its land-use plan, but in one of its first chances to clamp down and implement real and progressive change, town leaders did not get what their own plan calls for. In effect, they gave in, and that’s worth noting. Last week the town board gave Clyde Savings Bank the OK to build a new branch office at the intersection of Russ Avenue and Barber Boulevard. The plan for that site has been much debated, and with good reason — the stretch of Russ Avenue in front of Belks is the busiest road in Haywood County, aside from the interstate and the bypass. Town zoning officers don’t like the plan. In April, before the plan was put to a vote by the town board, zoning administrator John Swift said: “So far we have been presented nothing that meets the standards. I haven’t liked anything I’ve seen so far. It creates a traffic safety problem, and it compounds problems that already exist out there.” Swift was referring primarily to the deceleration lane and entrance road off Russ Avenue that Clyde’s plan called for. State recommendations suggest there be 400 feet between curb cuts, which would mean the whole parcel in front of Belks would be served by a road coming off Barber Boulevard, not Russ Avenue. Swift did not appear at the meeting last week, but aldermen suggested that they knew the plan being voted on did not have the seal of approval of the town staff. The town has not yet formally adopted the zoning districts which are to be the heart of its new land-use plan, but guidelines for the Russ Avenue district have been spelled out — parking and utilities in the rear of buildings, new buildings brought close to the sidewalk to create a stree wall similar to a downtown area, and encouraging walking and other modes of transportation. A year ago they tried to convince Burger King to adhere to this philosophy, but the fastfood chain ignored the town. A bit later, town staff worked with Long John Silver to implement some of the design suggestions in the land-use plan, and some of them were implemented. Clyde, to its credit, did compromise and agree to some of what the town wanted. But in the end it got what it wanted on the big issues — parking in front of the building and an entrance off Russ Avenue that some believe will cause traffic problems. Clyde Savings Bank has a reputation as a good corporate citizen in Haywood County, and the bank’s employees and officers have reinforced that truth many times through their contributions to local projects and their participation in community events. In this instance, they could have re-thought the traditional design for a bank, met the criteria in the town’s new land-use plan, and set a new, higher standard for all ensuing construction on Russ Avenue. They could have been the shining example of the new vision for development in Waynesville. As for town aldermen, they all admitted the final plan was a compromise and that there were aspects of it they did not like. Only Mayor Henry Foy voted against it, though. Waynesville’s leaders have developed the most comprehensive and progressive land-use plans in this region. Perhaps one day its vision will be fully realized.