A number of North Carolina towns and counties are taking to steps to restrict growth in response to rapid development in the area north of Charlotte. An unusual aspect of many of the municipal rezoning efforts is their quest to preserve open space outside town borders while simultaneously they attempt to encourage growth along future transit corridors.

The most aggressive zoning changes have been by the towns of Huntersville and Davidson, situated just north of Charlotte in Mecklenburg County. Both experienced rapid growth in the 1990s, with Huntersville’s population growing from just over 3,000 in 1990 to nearly 27,000 in 2001. Davidson experienced a population increase from 4,046 in 1990 to 7,331 in 2001.

Huntersville in February radically rezoned about 40 square miles of land over which it has zoning jurisdiction. Under the new rules, land previously designated as “open space” would be reclassified as either transitional or rural.

Rural parcels are subject to lower maximum housing densities than was previously the case, effectively reducing the salability and value of the property. Housing densities range from one house per three acres if the parcel has no open space, to 1.2 houses per acre with 60 percent open space. Transitional parcel are located nearer to town and are easier to develop.

A moratorium is already in place in Huntersville on large-scale residential development. The town also has adopted a special zoning district near the future commuter rail stops.

Davidson’s new zoning rules, adopted last year, are generally similar in scope.

One feature common to both towns’ rezoning is they extend beyond their borders. Under North Carolina law, municipalities’ zoning authority may extend beyond their borders. As a result, landowners may be subject to new zoning restrictions from jurisdictions in which they do not live, and to whom they do not pay property taxes. Such landowners, as nonresidents, also cannot vote for the town council members acting on the rezoning.

Lake protection

New land-use restrictions are not limited to preserving open space. The major focus of a different set of rules is protecting water quality in the region.

Regulations aimed at providing buffer areas around lakes that supply drinking water certainly are not unique to the Mountain Island Lake reservoir that serves Charlotte and surrounding communities. The N.C. Department of Environmental and Natural Resources, for example, is proposing to make permanent a buffer zone on Lake James and the other lakes of the Catawba River as well as on the river’s main channel downstream of Lake James.

What is different is the extent of the buffer zones; the DENR is requiring only 50-foot buffer zones on Lake James. Since 1993, Charlotte has required a 100-foot buffer zone on the lake from which it draws its drinking water and that for the other municipalities in the county.

The Mountain Island Marine Commission, an advisory board, has recently asked communities with zoning authority around the lake to adopt even stricter restrictions, including a ban on petroleum and chemical storage, private sewage-treatment plants, landfills, hazardous-waste storage, land farming of petroleum-contaminated soil, junkyards, and commercial agricultural operations within 1,000 feet of the lake.

Duke Energy and governmental facilities would be exempt from the proposed regulations.

Lincoln County ponders changes

Growth is not restricted to northern Mecklenburg County proper. Neighboring counties are also experiencing rapid growth as people seek cheaper housing and lower taxes while still being near Lake Norman or Mountain Island Lake. Several communities are considering zoning changes or other regulations in response.

The Lincoln County Commission and planning commission met recently to discuss the issue. The county is projected to grow from a population of about 65,000 now to over 100,000 by 2020.

Options the county is considering are boundaries on growth, impact fees, higher real estate transfer fees, a moratorium on development, and increasing minimum lot size. Minimum lot sizes in the county range from one-third of an acre to one acre.

Opinions were divided on how to best proceed. “The only way to stop growth is not having it to begin with,” County Commissioner Carrol Mitchem said. “I hear a lot of people saying they’re tired of all these houses. That would be an easy way to fix it.” Mitchem favors minimum lot size of three or four acres.

Lowrey is an associate editor at Carolina Journal.