NC Localities Try Growth Controls

CHARLOTTE — 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. A burgeoning population helps to explain the trend: Huntersville’s population went from just over 3,000 in 1990 to nearly 27,000 in 2001.