Last week this newspaper printed two articles that looked at growth in Macon County. This week Franklin Town Administrator Mike Decker discusses that town’s zoning ordinance. The county’s 27 percent growth rate puts it right there with some of the fastest growing areas in the state, so growth issues are without doubt among the hottest topics for conversation in this mountain county.

And yet commercial growth is occurring without even a modest set of land-use guidelines outside the town limits of Franklin and Highlands. In Franklin, all this growth is being guided by outdated zoning laws, some which date from the early 1950s.

Thankfully, it appears that some modern growth and planning concepts are on the horizon.
Macon officials last week invited a state expert from the association of counties to discuss land-use planning. County Board Chairman Harold Corbin extended the invitation, following the recommendation of a long-range visioning group that took a long look at Macon’s future. In Franklin aldermen and others are studying the current zoning laws to see how they can better suit the town’s current needs.

It remains to be seen where these efforts will lead, but the fact that they are taking place is reassuring. Now the issue is on the table and out there for debate. Only good can come from taking this first step.

 

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The Smoky Mountain News