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Annex C: County Capability Assessment <br />I. Purpose. <br />To identify and define the capabilities that Cabarrus County has available to implement and <br />enforce a hazard mitigation plan. <br />II. Situation and Assumptions. <br />A. The ability of a community to develop an effective hazard mitigation plan depends <br />upon its capability to implement policy and programs. This is accomplished through the <br />legal, technical, and fiscal capabilities of the local government. <br />III. Demographic Overview <br />A. General Description. Cabarrus County is located in the southern Piedmont section of <br />the state and covers an area of 364 square miles. It is bordered to the west by <br />Mecklenburg County, to the southeast by Union County, to the north by Rowan County, <br />to the northwest by Iredell County and to the east by Stanly County. The county seat is <br />Concord. Cabarrus County is located in Area Hof the Western Branch, North Carolina <br />Division of Emergency Management and FEMA Region IV. <br />B. Population. The population of the County and municipalities within the County is <br />168,740 (as of 2008). There are 360.1 people per square mile. Nearly 70% of this <br />population lives in the six municipal areas in the county: Concord, Kannapolis, Mt. <br />Pleasant, Harrisburg, Midland and Locust. (The town of Locust is in Stanly County, but <br />has expanded into Cabarrus County in the past five years.) The three municipalities <br />included in this plan have the following populations as of 2008: Mount Pleasant, 1548; <br />Harrisburg, 6179; and Midland, 3255. <br />C. Economy. The textile industry in Cabarrus County, once the principal industry in the <br />county, has declined to the point it is no longer a major employer. The largest <br />manufacturing plant was the Philip Morris cigarette plant in Concord until it was closed <br />in 2008. Other industries include construction, light manufacturing and transportation. <br />The county is home to two of the state's most popular tourist attractions: Charlotte Motor <br />Speedway and the Concord Mills shopping mall. <br />IV. Institutional Capability <br />A. Cabarrus County is a local government body with a Board - Manager form of <br />government. The elected Board of Commissioners is the decision - making body for the <br />County. The appointed Planning and Zoning Board serves as an advisory body to the <br />elected Board on planning matters. The County has a number of professional staff <br />departments to serve the citizens of the County and to carry out day -to -day administrative <br />activities. <br />Annex C County Capability Assessment C -1 <br />December 2009 <br />Attachment number 11 <br />F -6 Page 137 <br />