Affordable housing, farmland preservation, water quality and land-use regulations are a few topics scheduled for discussion at the Mountain Landscape Initiative charette May 13-20 at Western Carolina University.

Realtors, developers, planners, elected officials and residents will spend the week brainstorming new ideas on how to manage growth in the mountains. Participants will pair up with a team of land planners, engineers, and architects from the Lawrence Group of Charlotte.

Consultants and citizens will craft guidelines to address hot topics like conservation or land-use planning, explained Ben Brown, MLI communications director. Those recommendations from each session will be part of a larger “toolbox” for managing growth in the mountains, with a final presentation of ideas set for May 20.

The toolbox is a set of guidelines for responsible development in the seven western counties, said Brown.

The charette is the culmination of a process that started several months ago with interviews of local residents about what they liked about the mountains. These video interviews were followed by community meetings where more information was gathered.

Among the different exercises during the charette will be the opportunity to work with a Haywood developer trying to adhere to the county’s steep slope ordinance. This project is a partnership with Haywood Waterways.

Another project is an analysis of the Woods family farm in Cherokee County. The farm owners want to retire but still want their land to operate as a working farm.

“We choose each of these projects as typical challenges in the area,” said Brown.

The goal of the charette is to develop a set of guidelines that will address specific issues like farmland preservation, he said.

There are also two satellite charettes: one in Cowee and another in Cashiers.

At the Cowee charette on May 14-17, attendees will work towards creating a toolbox of ideas of how to preserve historic attractions like the Cherokee Mound and the West-Mill district.

In Cashiers, community members will discuss and develop a way to create a village for the community. Their charette is May 15-17.

Project history

The Southwestern Economic Development Commission and two UNC doctoral students spearheaded the Mountain Landscapes Initiative.

The project started back in November when students Gabe Cumming and Carla Norwood began shooting a documentary about the region. The students polled 70 residents from the seven western counties and the Qualla Boundary about what they envisioned in WNC’s future.

The second phase of the project was a series of community forums in each of the seven counties. At each forum attendees watched the documentary and were asked to break into small discussion groups.

At each community meeting topics like mountainside development, conservation, and responsible development were common themes and are now discussion items at the charette, Brown said.

Mountain Landscape Initiative is planning to create grant pool that charette participants can apply to, Brown said.

Bob Wagner, vice president of the Community Foundation, is seeking grant money for the project. Community organizations will be able apply for and use the money to spearhead specific projects, Brown said.