The Changing Landscape in Watauga County PDF Print E-mail
Written by J.W. Williamson   
Sunday, 12 December 2004

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.

 

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Land Ownership in Watauga County PDF Print E-mail
Written by Gayle Turner   
Saturday, 20 November 2004

The  data provided below is available from the Watauga County Tax office  from a file used in billing for property taxes.  These are the  official data available on property holdings for 2001.  They are  public records.

These  data indicate that Watauga County is overwhelmingly a rural, sparsely developed community divided into small parcels.  There are relatively  few large parcels to establish major farming operations or industrial  sites.  Nearly half of the parcels are owned by individuals who  do not live here and may not have the same sense of community investment  and respect for the heritage as those who do call Watauga County their  home.

There  are 186,417 acres of land in the County divided into 41,595 parcels:

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Blue Ribbon Commission on Growth Issues, January 2000 PDF Print E-mail
Written by Gayle Turner   
Saturday, 20 November 2004
The Report from The Watauga County Blue Ribbon Commission on Growth Issues, January 2000

The  County Board of Commissioners established a Blue  Ribbon Commission in 1998. It was composed of twenty-two  members who represented each of the County’s  Fire Districts. The Commission was to “study growth issues and return a set of recommendations.”

The group met for approximately thirteen months, and their final report was accepted by the Commissioners in January 2000.  The Core Findings of the Commission were that the county “is developing  at an alarming rate” and that “growth has a momentum that is  difficult to control.” The findings emphasize that the County needs  to address these problems “without delay.” The findings also stress that the county should not lose sight “of our people, their roots, and heritage.”

The Commission's report suggests, among other things:




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The 1992 Plan PDF Print E-mail
Written by Gayle Turner   
Saturday, 20 November 2004

The  most recent landuse plan was adopted by the Board  of Commissioners in 1992. Entitled “Growing with a Plan,” the report looks at demographics,  goals, and citizen participation.


The report also discusses the county’s  subdivision regulations, its erosion control ordinance, its sign ordinance, its mobile home ordinance, and its  junk car ordinance. Among other things, the report concludes:

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The 1988 Report PDF Print E-mail
Written by Gayle Turner   
Saturday, 20 November 2004

In  its next landuse report in 1988, the County Planning  Board conducted a series of Community meetings, held  in elementary schools across the county, to talk about land use. The findings of these community meetings are summarized in the document “Planning Implementation Policies for Watauga County.”

The  policies provided in this report offered a framework for addressing growth in the county and considered  future projects. The main topics were water, over-development,  appearance, economy, roads, agriculture, and recreation.  The commissioners unanimously accepted the report.

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