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Moving on up: Franklin chamber gets a new building

Franklin Chamber of Commerce staff and members are excited about taking a vacant building and turning it into their new home. 

Currently cramped in the same 2,400-square-foot building on Palmer Street the chamber has occupied since 1969, the staff is now envisioning what it will do with the 8,000 square feet of space at the new location at 98 Hyatt Road.

Funding likely for sidewalk on U.S. 441

fr 441sidewalksThe future is looking bright for plans to build a sidewalk along U.S. 441 where Jackson County meets Cherokee, with funding recently approved from state contingency funds.

Jackson board to revisit U.S. 441 zoning plan

Rules in Jackson County controlling how development occurs along the five-mile stretch or so of U.S. 441 that leads into the Cherokee Indian Reservation are undergoing review.

That concerns former Commissioner William Shelton, a resident and farmer who lives and works in that area. Shelton helped pass the regulations after the Whittier community developed a long-range vision and plan for this critical stretch of four-lane highway, known as the Gateway area.

“It is their plan, what they want to happen and to not happen,” Shelton said.

The Whittier land-use plan was a landmark event when passed four years ago. It marked one of the first attempts by any county west of Buncombe to undertake what is essentially spot-zoning. The county planning board now wants to revise the land-use plan.

County Planner Gerald Green, who was hired by the previous Democrat-controlled board just before its members were ousted during the last election, said there’s no desire in play here to strip the regulations of meaning.

Green said that he initiated the review himself. The planner maintained this is a simple attempt “to improve” rules on development in the corridor “and make them work for everyone.”

“The intention was to preserve the scenic rural character of the area. But I’m not sure the ordinance does that,” Green said.

 

“Anti-development?”

Republican Commissioners Charles Elders and Doug Cody both said this week they support a planning board review of the U.S. 441 ordinance.

Cody described the existing regulations as “anti-development.” Elders, who lives and works in that area and replaced Shelton on the board, said that he’s heard a multitude of complaints in his community about the rules being too restrictive.

The current regulations don’t particularly limit where development can occur along the strip of highway leading to Cherokee. Instead, it lays out aesthetic standards, such as architecture and landscaping, to ensure what development does occur will be attractive. And that’s sort of what’s there now — some older motels, a consignment shop or two, service stations and a few businesses dot the corridor.

Green said he believes stipulating “nodes” of concentrated development might actually work better, such as at the juncture of U.S. 74 and U.S. 441. Concentrated development might be preferable to allowing growth to sprawl along the entire strip, he said, adding this sprawl actually could under-gird, not weaken, another goal of the original plan — traffic management.

Green also wants to take a hard look at rules now in place that dictate any new parking lots go behind buildings, not in front. The ordinance, he said, fulfills “new urbanist philosophies” but doesn’t take into account more practical considerations, such as the “context” of development already in place along U.S. 441.

Additionally, the ordinance fails to stipulate that developers can’t just “flip” their new businesses around. In other words, new development could technically meet the ordinance requirements by “fronting” the highway with the actual back of a new building, he said. Then the parking lot would be “in front” of the building as required — but that would not be what motorists on U.S. 441 were looking at as they travel to and from Cherokee.

The ordinance also fails to meet a more desirable planning goal of being able to get to several shops from a single access road instead of having a long smear of strip development along the entire corridor, Green said. And that discourages pedestrian movement between shops, he added.

 

Urban fix to rural problem

A Charlotte firm helped develop the ordinance, and the county planner said that big-city approach to controlling development simply doesn’t work well on the ground in rural Western North Carolina.

“I see it as improving these regulations,” Green said of the planning board review. “The more I look at the ordinance the more questions I have about it. The plan (by the community) was very well done. It is the ordinance that is being reviewed.”

A series of community workshops and public meetings was held in Whittier to help develop a vision for the corridor. That vision laid the groundwork for the logistical aspects of the ordinance written by the contracted firm.

Green said he does not believe “that the goal of protecting the corridor and encouraging development is exclusive.”

Next May, Jackson County residents will vote on whether to allow the sale of alcoholic beverages countywide. In April, Cherokee residents will vote on whether to allow the sale of alcoholic beverages reservation-wide. A “yes” by both or either of those communities is likely to trigger some development along U.S. 441, though Green believes it will be fairly slow because of poor economic conditions.

“I do think it will grow, but given the state of the economy, it won’t be fast,” the county planner said.

And, if Jackson residents OK the sale of alcoholic beverages in May, it would take about a year for the actual reality of sales to occur. And that, loosely, is the timeframe Green wants to see the planning board work within, too.

“We want to make sure (Gateway) is both attractive and viable as a transportation corridor,” the planner said.

441 corridor plan poised for passage

The Jackson County Board of Commissioners held a final public hearing on the proposed U.S. 441 “Gateway” Corridor ordinance Monday (July 6).

Michael Egan, the county’s consulting attorney on land development matters, gave an overview of the ordinance before comments from the public were heard. It sets out a vision for the corridor, such as architectural standards, preservation of views and farmland and limits on signage and other aesthetic criteria for new development.

The five-lane corridor, which serves as an entrance to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Cherokee, is still quite rural. But water and sewer lines being extended to the area could change that, and commissioners wanted a plan to guide that growth. If the ordinance is passed, Jackson will be the first county west of Buncombe to adopt land-use planning or zoning in a mostly rural unincorporated area.

The only criticism, however, was not over zoning but billboard rules. Billboards would be banned under the ordinance, but existing ones could remain — grandfathered as “legal non-conforming” signs. Two residents who rent land for billboards said the billboard owners have them over a barrel by threatening not to pay rent. If the landowners made the owners take their billboards down for failing to pay rent, another could never be put back up. So in effect the landowners are stuck with the current billboard owners or none at all.

Other than that issue, comments from the public as well as among commissioners consistently praised the ordinance and the inclusive process by which it was developed.

Bill Gibson, who owns a farm just outside the corridor boundary in Camp Creek, thanked the board for taking on the initiative.

“The need is self evident,” Gibson said said, citing “a number of billboards there that have square footage that exceeds the size of the home we were reared in.”

Gibson also cited the need to ensure better quality buildings and attractive construction.

Gibson praised the process for its “inclusiveness” — especially the invitation to a number of tribal members for their participation. While the corridor is in Jackson County, it is a major entry to Cherokee.

Commissioner William Shelton departed from his role as an elected official to speak during the public comment period.

“As someone born and raised on that corridor, I’ve lived half my life right on 441,” he said. “I’m really proud of this whole process — the steering committee, the planning department, the charrette process participants. We appreciated your input, your patience. At some point in future we’re going to realize great benefit from this.”

Shelton also addressed concerns about limits on temporary structures imposed by the ordinance.

“There is provision for temporary use — seasonal greenhouses, tents — as long as it’s used by that business. I would like to see it be an easy process for people to get those permits,” Shelton said, concluding by saying “I’m really proud of this product.”

A final vote on it is expected after commissioners receive any straggling comments from citizens who couldn’t attend the hearing.

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