The Downtown Waynesville Associ-ation hopes it will be able to provide input into the long-range land-use plan currently being developed by the town, particularly as it pertains to the growth of the Central Business District.

That issue dominated discussion last week at a strategic planning session attended by members of the DWA’s executive board.

“It is important that DWA have input in the growth development plan,” said Jeff Fischbach, who works for the state’s Division of Community Assistance. Fischbach helped lead the session, and he has been advising DWA officials since the organization formed more than a decade ago.

The town has been working on the plan since September 2000, and on Feb. 15 it will hold two public meetings to explain to citizens what has been done so far. That meeting will set the stage for four public meetings in four different areas of town in March. At those meetings town officials and Benchmark, the company hired to lead the town through the process, will collect input from the public before developing the land-use plan for the steering committee to consider.

Although he encouraged downtown business leaders to take part in this process, it is the second year of the process that Fischbach said could have a tremendous impact on the future of downtown.

“In the second year of this process, the town will adopt zoning and other provisions to put the plan into effect -- that is when you could be affected,” he said.

Fischbach and Ron Huelster, the DWA’s executive director, explained that the zoning ordinances affecting the Central Business District (CBD) was different from the Municipal Service District, which is the downtown area that is taxed at a higher rate than the rest of the town. The DWA is not seeking to expand their taxing district, only to expand the region that falls under the CBD so downtown growth could occur in nearby areas.

In the CBD, zoning ordinances allow a mix of commercial and residential, which encourages using part of downtown buildings for apartments. Also, those who build or buy property in this district do not have to provide parking, they don’t have setback requirements so buildings can come right up to the sidewalk, and buildings can abut each other instead of having to be a certain distance apart.

Huelster explained that the commercial areas just outside of the CBD have zoning requirements that do not encourage downtown type development, and that new growth in these areas could adversely affect downtown. On the other hand, expanding the central business district could have many positive benefits for all of Waynesville.

“If we expand and enlarge the CBD, then residential and small businesses will come. That will help accommodate a lot of different kinds of businesses, like Dollar General and the Curb Market, allowing them to grow,” Huelster said.

Huelster suggested that town officials consider transitional and mixed-use zones around the central business district. These will encourage the kind of growth that will retain what is unique about downtown, he said. It is also important to protect the residential areas around town, which might need special zoning as the CBD expands.

Huelster said he has asked Benchmark to meet with DWA officials so they can relay their feelings about the growth of the CBD.

DWA members made a list of reasons why enlarging the CBD would be good for Waynesville. It included effective use of land, eliminating sprawl, allowing mixed use, encouraging visually appealing commercial growth, increasing redevelopment potential and adding to the tax base of the town.

Another reason for expanding the CBD is to reduce the pressure to increase property values in the downtown area.

“The other issue is driving up rents on Main Street. We don’t want to end up with nothing but high-end boutiques that are just open six months and are hobby businesses,” Huelster said.

Teresa Pennington, who owns a downtown art gallery, said keeping a good mix of businesses downtown was key to the area’s commercial success.

“We need businesses like Dollar General and the Curb Market as much as we need tourist businesses. If we aren’t making them feel that way, then we need to relay to them that they are important and we need them,” Pennington said.

He said increasing rents and property values are a real concern and that property speculators can have a negative effect on downtown Waynesville.

“How do we maintain a working downtown community?” he asked.

The board decided it would prepare a map of potential CBD expansion, identify issues to discuss with Benchmark and attend the March land-use plan development meetings.

 

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