County Makes It Harder To Put Unpaved Roads In Subdivisions

BY WESLEY YOUNG
SALISBURYPOST

PINEHURST - On retreat Friday, Rowan County commissioners agreed to require more housing developments to have paved roads.

Commissioners also decided after a long discussion that giving the city of Salisbury one mile of zoning control beyond the current city limits is the best way to put the long-standing issue to rest without provoking a suit from the city.

Commissioners rather quickly reached a consensus to enact new subdivision regulations that would stop most people from creating subdivisions that have unpaved roads.

County Planner Marion Lytle defined the issue as relating to a slowdown on mobile home development.

Lytle told commissioners that when people complain about ''dirt roads,'' it is really mobile homes they are talking about.

''It is not dirt roads, it is mobile homes on dirt roads'' that some people don't like, Lytle said.

Commissioners agreed to pass the regulations, which will allow the board to grant exceptions in cases of hardship.

What the rule change would do is eliminate the ''special exceptions'' provisio n of the subdivision ordinance, which allows a landowner to develop up to seven lots without having to put in a paved road. This method of development has accounted for about 45 percent of the subdivisions in Rowan County.

With the proposed change, a landowner can still subdivide lots for family members without having to put in a paved road.

What the board decision on Salisbury means is that some people who currently live under Salisbury zoning regulations will instead see Rowan County make decisions regarding the pace and direction of development.

This zoning ''rollback'' doesn't push the Salisbury zoning boundary back as far as commissioners feel they have the legal right to do; such a move would push the boundary back to a mile beyond the city's 1972 boundaries.

But the board decision will give Salisbury the same type of one-mile zoning perimeter that any North Carolina city can claim in counties where there is no zoning.

Salisbury began exercising control over an area extending up to two miles beyond the city limits in 1972, long before the county enacted its own zoning ordinance.

When county zoning went into place last year, the county acquired the right to roll back the city's zoning border. Meanwhile, in the years following the 1972 zoning agreement, the city had gradually annexed areas within the two-mile limit, reducing that zoning area's size.

A discussion during Friday's session of the county retreat turned into a debate over whether the county would have to give Kannapolis a mile of zoning control as well, in order to be treating all municipalities the same.

Kannapolis claims less than the legal minimum of a mile beyond the city limits.

Commissioner Steve Blount suggested that Kannapolis should get that mile, which provoked cries of betrayal from Commissioner Dave Rowland. Rowland said the board sold south Rowan residents on zoning by using the argument that it would be better for people to be under county control than under the control of Kannapolis.

''If you make it a mile, then that is just going to kill all the people in the southern end of the county,'' Rowland said.

After a lot of discussion, commissioners agreed by consensus to leave Salisbury with a one-mile limit, and require Kannapolis to abide by its current limits.

Because Salisbury has not completed annexing two perimeter areas, those won't be used in calculating the extent of the one-mile perimeter.

Later, commissioners plan to develop guidelines on how cities and towns may extend their zoning boundaries. Those guidelines will look at factors such as plans to provide areas with city services.

During a discussion about growth, Blount introduced an idea for requiring developers to set aside land for preservation when they start a subdivision or industrial project.

Blount's idea is that a developer could acquire ''development rights'' from farmers, who would then have a way to raise money without having to sell off tracts of land.

But other commissioners shot down this idea, saying that it would take away the right of farmers to dispose of their property.

''I don't want to tell a business that on top of their construction costs, they have to come up with a half million dollars'' to buy development rights, Rowland said.

Commissioner Frank Tadlock said such a policy would ''take property rights away from children and grandchildren'' as well, and would render the preserved farm land worthless because the owner wouldn't be able to sell it for any purpose other than farming.

But Blount says the county has to do something unless leaders want the remaining rural character of Rowan to disappear.

''If you don't think farmland and open spaces are important, we can ignore it,'' Blount said. ''In 50 years, Rowan County will be an urban county.''

Other retreat highlights:

- Commissioners agreed to scrap the tax on cats and dogs. Few pet owners have been paying the tax anyhow.

- Commissioners don't like the idea of privatizing the county landfill, but do think the county should be able to accept some out-of-county waste to eliminate fluctuations in the amount of waste going to the landfill.

- nBoard members couldn't think of a solution to the ongoing problem of rock quarry noise.

- nCommissioners want to begin work on planning the county's 250th anniversary celebration in the year 2003.

- A majority of board members agreed the county should help the Economic Development Commission relocate its offices into the proposed new Chamber of Commerce building, although the exact amount of help remains to be decided. Rowland was the sole opponent of the idea.

Rowland cautioned commissioners that they were approving a lot of projects in a year in which the board has also promised to bring schools up to the state spending average.

Commissioner Arnold Chamberlain maintained that he only promised during his campaign for election to keep the tax rate the same - an easy promise during a revaluation year. With the same tax rate, most landowners would pay higher taxes.

- Commissioners want to meet with the smaller towns in the county to see if they would give up some of their representation on the Economic Development Commission board if the towns were relieved of paying dues for the industry-recruiting effort. The rationale is that nearly all the new industries locate outside town limits anyhow, and that the county should have more seats because of the amount of money it pays to the effort.

However, Rowland said the towns shouldn't be made to feel unwelcome to participate.

- Board members liked the idea of hiring someone on a commission basis to help market the county industrial park. The board will also consider cosmetic improvements like the planting of trees and grass along park roads.