Photo of Boone area by Gayle M. Turner
Local News
More Local News N.C. survey supports wind energy The Mountain Times, April 22, 2010
by Scott Nicholson

The public supports more wind energy, though attitudes are still mixed as the state Legislature prepares for consideration of a bill that could limit ridge top development of commercial wind farms.

A recent poll by Public Policy Polling shows support for ...
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From the Blog

Watch the Landslide Hazard Presentation!
I hope you all will view the slideshow from the NC geological survey. It's given ... Read more

Global Water Crisis Leading Toward Privatization?
A segment on C-SPAN this morning highlighted a new documentary film on the growing global ... Read more

Boone Planning Commission Grapples

The following exchange between Boone Area Planning Commission members at Monday night's meeting ... Read more


Open Letter to Town Council from Andrea Capua

Dear Town Council Members: I want to write to express my appreciation for your ... Read more

Regional News
Jackson County Passes Strict Rules on Slope Development
Scott McLeod in The Smoky Mountain News, 8 Aug. 2007:

SYLVA, N.C. --  Jackson County commissioners have given final approval to what are generally regarded as the state’s toughest subdivision and steep slope ordinances.

The approval of the ordinances was followed by a lifting of the controversial moratorium on new subdivisions that was enacted in February to provide county planners time to develop the new ordinances.

Chairman Brian McMahan was the only commissioner to vote against the ordinances. He gave a long statement in which he professed agreement with their intent but argued that they went too far. “Everyone I’ve talked to is in ...
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Other Recent News
  • N.C. survey supports wind energy
  • Citizens Plan For Watauga
  • Ashe County Needs Land-Use Planning
  • Regional Council: Slope Development Regs Needed
  • Green Business Plan for Watauga County
  • Partnership Forum Highlights Planning Issues
  • Environmental Preservation Rated Top Concern of Watauga Residents
  • Jackson County Passes Strict Rules on Slope Development
  • Asheville City Council Passes Steep-Slope, Viewshed Regs.
  • Republicans Stall Steep-Slope Bill in Raleigh
  • Planning News From Around the Web
    • Subway (and Subway Riders) To Heat Apartment Building
    • Heat emitting from riders of the Paris Metro and from the subway trains will heat 17 apartments in a new system debuting in France.

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    • Obama Calls For $50 Billion Transportation Stimulus
    • Calling it an investment plan in job growth in the transportation sector, the President in a Labor Day speech outlined a six-year plan for investment in road, rail, and airports to be paid for by eliminating tax breaks and subsidies from big oil.

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    • Sharing the Civic Commons
    • Civic Commons is a new non-profit that facilitates the sharing of information and knowledge on open city initiatives for open, data-driven, and collaborative city services.

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    • Can A City Function on Low Taxes?
    • Colorado Springs, Colorado has some of the lowest property taxes in the nation, and its heavily right-wing residents like it that way. But with the recession, the lack of tax income is causing some heavy cuts to city services.

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    • The Economic Benefit of Density
    • Richard Florida says that the economic benefits of 'agglomeration' are seldom given the attention they deserve. A new study by Florida and the Martin Prosperity Institute aims to do just that.

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    • Brownfields Into Beaches
    • Alex Bozikovic hits the beach with his son at a new public space in Toronto: Sugar Beach, an urban park built on a former industrial site.

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    • The Best Cities and Towns for College
    • The American Institute of Economic Research ranks the best cities and towns in which to attend college, using academic achievement, quality of life, and professional opportunities as factors.

      read more

    • Pedestrian-Only Zone Proposed for San Diego
    • With the centennial of the Panama-California Exposition that created San Diego's Balboa Square approaching, the city is considering turning back the neighborhood to its former car-free glory.

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    • The Myth of the City
    • In this essay from Lapham's Quarterly, Lewis Lapham muses on the nature of the city: how it is perceived, by whom and for whom; and how it incubates new ideas and facilitates democracy.

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    • Cambodia Joins Skyscraper Race to the Top
    • Cambodia has announced that it will build a new skyscraper that will be the tallest in Asia at 1,820 feet. Fast Company asks, why, in the face of grueling poverty, would they do such a thing?

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    Partnership News Updates

    ATTEND THE FORUM ON LIVABLE COMMUNITIES, April 18th
    .:: Local, regional, and national news of interest in Watauga County. - More Local News
    Communities across Western North Carolina face changes that affect our physical, economic, and social environments. We need to find collaborative approaches that will allow us to cope with these changes while preserving community character and livability.

    When communities succeed in finding balance between economic development and a high quality of life for its residents we should learn from them. The Town of Davidson received the 2004 National Award for Smart Growth Achievement in Overall Excellence. The award recognizes communities  that put "smart growth" principles such as open space and farmland preservation, walkable neighborhood design, affordable housing choices, and community visioning into practice.

    In the first of a series of events, the Levenson Program on Growth and Change in Western North Carolina is proud to host the High Country Forum for Livable Communities. At the forum, award winning planners from Davidson, NC will discuss their experiences in planning for livable communities. Regional decision makers and community members are invited to come learn how small communities can maintain a high quality of life while  attracting responsible development.

    "Forum on Livable Communities," April 18, 2007, 6:30 - 9:00 p.m., Broyhill Inn & Conference Center, Boone.

    NOTE: Though this event is free, seating is limited to 200. You are urged to click on "Event Registration" at the top of this page and follow the instructions.
     
    The Changing Landscape in Watauga County
    .:: Land in Watauga County - Watauga Log - Policy Decisions

    2 October 2006 ... In a special session vote (4-1, Dempsey Wilcox voting no), the Boone Town Council voted to regulate development on steep and very steep slopes (30 percent or greater).


    7 August 2006 ... Watauga County became the first county in North Carolina to adopt an ordinance permitting wind turbines for private residential use.


    13 June 2006 ...  The Boone Town Council passed a new moratorium on certain steep-slope development until the taskforce working on the issue can complete its work and make recommendations regarding ordinances to regulate such building.


    16 February 2006 ... The Boone Town Council extended the existing moratorium on multi-family housing complexes of more than 24 units for another three months, while work on a steep-slope development ordinance is being completed. Work is being done on a comprehensive map of hazardous slopes within the town's jurisdiction.


    27 June 2005 ... The Boone Town Council unanimously adopted Commercial Development Appearance Standards governing retaining walls, lighting, and other construction elements. The standards will become effective Jan. 1, 2006.


    19 May 2005 ... The Boone Town Council appointed 14 persons to a "steep slope development and multi-family housing" study committee, to study problems of building on steep slopes and to recommend action for ordinances to regulate future growth.


    22 February 2005 ... By a vote of 3-2 (Honeycutt and Blust voting against), the Watauga County Commission passed a resolution opposing the Bush administration's so-called "Clear Skies" initiative, which would lessen enforcement of out-of-state air pollution currently impacting North Carolina.

     

    17 February 2005 ... By a vote of 3-2 (Wilcox and Eggers voting against), the Boone Town Council passed a 1-year moratorium on multi-unit housing developments of more than 25 units, but the proposed moratorium on steep-slope development died without a second. Instead, the Town Council voted unanimously to study steep-slope development problems and to change the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) to correct those problems "within 6 months."

     

    20 January 2005 Following the completion of a water study which revealed that the town of Boone’s municipal water availability was far lower than previously thought (only 150,000 gals. per day rather than 450,000 gals.), the Boone Town Council adopted a water ordinance that apportions and restricts new tap-ons to residences and businesses within the Town of Boone only. No new developments outside the corporate limits, including those in the Extra-Territorial Jurisdiction (ETJ), will be given water.

     

    Read more...