Letters to the editor: 07/03/03

Zoning is unacceptable

To the Editor:

Zoning is coming to Jackson County. It's sneaking in the back door and it has a fancy name, but it is coming nonetheless.

Monday, July 7, at 7 p.m. the county commissioners will hold a public hearing at Blue Ridge School to consider something called the "Land Development Ordinance for the Cashiers Commercial Area." The general statue on which this ordinance is based is commonly known as community-based zoning.

This statue allows zoning districts of 640 acres or more with at least 10 different property owners. After a district is created, a district planning board can impose zoning on all the residents of the district. This can be done without any sort of vote or referendum. Commissioners can do it by simply holding a public hearing and a gaining majority vote approval.

The stated intent of community -based zoning is to allow areas within a county to develop standards and regulations particular to that community. Taken at face value this seems like a reasonable, even a worthy, goal, but in practice this type of zoning takes on an especially insidious tone. Instead of developing reasonable standards, what often happens is that these zoning districts create even more restrictive regulations in an attempt to exclude and protect. In effect this system can pit neighbor against neighbor in an increasing cycle of restriction.

These types of tools were originally intended to promote cohesive neighborhoods within a large and diverse municipally. They do not work well within a rural context, unless your definition of success is creating a patchwork of gated communities since these regulations often serve as just that, a gate.

What is particularly distressing about this current proposal is that our current commissioners ran on either a no-zoning platform or at least on the promise that any introduction of such regulations would be preceded by community participation, involvement and ultimately a vote. The current proposal has been forwarded to prop up a failing attempt at incorporation, an attempt that even supporters have lost interest in after they were denied access to ETJ.

These attempts up in Cashiers will have an impact on the rest of the county.

There are no assurances that similar measures will not be extended to other areas of the county. Currently the Smart Growth Task Force is working on non-regulatory measures intended to assist local folks stay on their land and moderate and reasonable regulations intended to hold developers responsible and accountable to the residents of the county. None of these measures involve zoning and the introduction of the current plan could very well serve to undermine those efforts and forestall initiatives designed to address the problems and costs to current residents created by growth, especially the growth of second homes and part-time resident development.

Our commissioners need to hear loud and clear that zoning and the divisive and dissipative arguments that it brings are unacceptable to the local population.

Bob Ginn
Sylva

Northern, Southern Loop ideas are short-sighted

To the Editor:

I am greatly distressed by the continued push from county commissioners in support of the Northern and Southern Loop traffic proposals. There are blatant flaws with each plan, namely the outright refusal from county leaders to put the interests of the local community first.

I find it hard to justify paving the remaining undeveloped areas in the county, overloading the carrying capacity of our mountain town, and introducing more air, noise and water pollution, all for the end result of a less-frustrating wait at traffic lights.

For the estimated cost of $115 million (or $224 million, depending), Jackson County will have a 6- to 9-mile stretch of pavement that will forever ruin the less-hurried style of life that we residents of Webster have always enjoyed. Wouldn't it make sense to direct that money toward public transportation and bike lanes, which would preserve the natural beauty that we all cherish?

At least 94 residential homes will be destroyed during the construction process. Of course, many more residents will be negatively affected by a four-lane in their front yard. How many of us would willingly welcome more noise from cars and 18-wheelers barreling down the road?

What about the additional air pollution a four-lane invites? As many of us have witnessed in various areas of WNC, building more roads or widening existing thoroughfares helps traffic congestion for a limited period until the roads are clogged yet again. I wonder what part of Jackson County our leaders will propose to spoil after this loop fills up? An unprecedented rate of development and commercialization is pressing down on our threatened community. More roads will simply accelerate the demise of what's left of our natural areas, not to mention the extinction of our peaceful, mountain way of life.

I urge readers to consider what usually follows a four-lane highway: In Webster there are no gas stations, no fast food joints to appease the demanding traveler. I predict a new piece of highway, however short in mileage, will lead to more development along those few lengths of asphalt.

As a lifelong Webster resident, I would appreciate our county leaders' cautious examination of a traffic plan that would surely lead to such negative growth. I would also be curious as to how leaders plan to protect the Tuckaseigee River from road litter and oil-enriched drainage coming off the proposed Southern Loop that follows South River Road, considering that there has yet to be any roadway construction that has not negatively affected the health of the waterway beneath it.

Our county leaders have proposed a short-sighted, temporary solution for a very real problem: Unchecked growth in our mountain community. Such "Band-aid" plans rarely offer true resolution and more often than not leave communities feeling used, cheated and outraged.

Rather than jump on the "pave every inch of North Carolina" bandwagon, I strongly urge our leaders to step back and fully recognize the threats these plans carry. Whatever happened to county officials who wanted to preserve and protect Jackson County's residents and their natural treasures? Apparently they have become too lazy and unmotivated to tackle tough challenges with wise and carefully planned-out solutions.

Let your voice be heard if you feel the same. It's the only way to get county leaders to do their job.

Meghan Baker
Webster

Help us stop 'spot zoning'

To the Editor:

This letter is an appeal to the citizens in the north end of Jackson County, many of whom may not be aware of the impending threat from the proposed commercial district zoning plan for Cashiers.

Some county commissioners have said the plan only affects Cashiers, but if the plan is implemented, it is a county plan. The door will be open to "spot zoning" everwhere in Jackson County.

We are asking our friends and relatives from the north end of the county to attend the public hearing at Blue Ridge School at 7 p.m. on Monday, July 7. Let our commissioners see that we are still one county. If you oppose spot zoning anywhere in the county, let them know about it.

The words of Benjamin Franklin are just as true today as they were when first written:

"We must all hang together or, most assuredly, we shall all hang separately."

Wanda Watson
Chairman Cashiers Committee to Stop Zoning

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