But the airing Monday night was at a meeting of the Rowan Planning Board, a group that may be more receptive than some landowners.

County Planner Marion Lytle said planners have worked to accommodate the concerns of residents in the northern I-85 area, particularly those wanting to preserve farmland.

Lytle said ultimately the new zoning districts could be applied to the full length of I-85 that is within the county’s jurisdiction.

He added the warning that some landowners simply won’t like the zoning, which they may perceive as county control of their land.

A major aim is to prevent residential subdivisions from eating up large tracts of land along the interstate, land the county wants reserved for industry.

County Commission Vice Chairman Steve Blount said that while commissioners don’t have anything against residential subdivisions out in the county, the trade-off along the interstate is potentially enormous. An acre of land going to high-end industry can add $1 million to the county tax books. The same acre for residential development may add $250,000, he said.

Planners are proposing four new districts, in addition to using an agricultural overlay district already on the books but not currently in use.

Many of the residents who attended a workshop at Hanford Dole Elementary School earlier this year called for protection of farmland, telling planners they didn’t want to see it carved up for industry or homes.

The agricultural overlay will do just that, preserve the farm land and keep the tax value at a minimum. However, the property could be switched to industrial zoning if the right deal comes along and a farmer elects to sell.

The overlay, as proposed, would not allow the farmland to be sold for residential development.

The low tax value and a ban on residential development sparked concerns by Planning Board member William Hall, a west Rowan farmer.

Hall suggested the county would be hurting farmers, causing the assessed land value to be less than what farmers have borrowed against the property.

Lytle and Blount quickly responded that the farm overlay district along I-85 would not affect farmers in other areas of the county and would not prevent them from selling tracts for subdivisions.

Blount pointed out that the impetus for developing the new zoning categories is the county’s investment of $1.6 million for a water line and tank along Long Ferry Road. The line and tank are designed to serve the new Aldi distribution center but can also provide water for a large area along I-85.

Commissioners hope to have the new zoning in place in early fall. A moratorium on new residential subdivisions is currently in force for the northern area.

Planning Board members agreed with plans to hold another public workshop at Hanford Dole Elementary in early July.

Lytle said a smaller number of landowners will be notified. The date will be announced once the meeting is set.

Much of the area previously under consideration for industrial zoning is now in the proposed farm use overlay, according to maps given to the Planning Board.

In other business, the board heard information or acted as follows:

• Approved new permit procedures and regulations governing cellular communication towers. The several pages of new language tighten the requirements on information the applicant must supply to the county and also stipulate the applicant must pay the cost of hiring engineers to advise the county.

The recommendations will go to county commissioners, who have scheduled a meeting July 6 to hear a specialist on cell tower regulations.

• Approved a recommended new procedure to handle rezonings and conditional use permits. The process would require one hearing, but it would be done in a quasi-judicial process with witnesses giving sworn testimony.

The county is trying to revamp its process after a Charlotte Superior Court judge ruled the Charlotte process illegal. Charlotte uses a similar process to the current Rowan procedure.