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January 20, 2009 (Regular Meeting) Page 1150 Liles Parkway and having family in Midland, allows great access for better development in those areas. He said the focus on .Interstate 85 and larger highways for development is to try to cut out any polluting industries like chemical plants or heavy industrial plants that could affect the water and air in these areas. He said he definitely wants to work with the city more so, because every time it seems someone wants to move just outside the city limits to start their business, the city comes out and annexes it. He said that just does not seem right for the people and to the people. He said there needs to be more collaboration on that issue to see how we can stop that in a sense. But other than that, he said he thinks the Central Area Land Use Plan is great; it is well thought out and that he is extremely in favor of it. In closing, he thanked the Board for listening. Chairman White thanked Mr. Johnson for his comments and asked if there was anyone else to speak in favor of the rezoning. Tim Hayes, resident of Cold Springs Road in Concord, said he lives in one of the affected areas and represents four families who live on land out there that has been with his family for over 100 years. He said they support the adoption of the Central Area Land Use Plan and have attended all of the meetings, including Board meetings, zoning meetings and planning meetings. He said if you had asked for the same procedure with those supporting the Land Use Plan to step outside at one of the planning meetings, they would have had a larger number on that left side over there versus what we had tonight. He said he thinks some of that is from the fact that a lot of people there hope and expect that you will follow through with the plan which you have solicited public input and the response was pretty great. He said he understands the concern of those who have property and are looking at retirement and trying to solidify their situation, but at the same time, he does not want to see in his area what he sees in West Cabarrus. He said he does not want to see three and four houses on one acre of land, nor does he want to see people who can reach out of their bedroom window and slap their neighbor. He said that is not controlled development and it is not the quality life he wants to see. In closing, he said he enjoys his rural setting and encouraged the Board to adopt the plan as proposed. Chairman White thanked Mr. Hayes for his comments and asked if there was anyone else to speak in favor of the rezoning. Dennis Testerman, a resident of 2990 Penninger Road in Concord, and part of the affected area, stated he previously rented some land and a house to live in that was also in the "Central Area", so he has lived in this area for approximately 18 years. He said he wanted to speak not from the hat he wears during the day while working for Cabarrus County at the Conservation District, but a more personal prospective. He said the lot he currently lives on is an acre and a half in size and he found out during the previous reevaluation that the lot is eligible for subdivision; therefore, there was a bump in his taxes and worked with the folks at the Tax Assessor's office to address the issue. He said when he bought the house, he installed a geothermal heat pump and his geothermal lines run out into what would have been considered the spare lot. Because these lines are part of the infrastructure for his house, he said the Tax Department made some concessions on his taxes so his property is treated as a single lot. He said he is more interested in trying to avoid fragmentation from the food production standpoint. He said his mother's farm has been in her family since the late 1700's and during World War II, they were given the Victory Farm Certificate by the State of Tennessee for producing seventy-five percent of their food off of their land. He said that is part of his upbringing in addition to his religious upbringing. One of the primary tenets of his faith he said, is that the Earth is the Lord's and we are to be good stewards of it, pass it on to the next generation and that it needs to provide for all of our needs. He said this philosophy is something the Soil and Water Conservation District encourages each year with "Soil and Water Stewardship Week". He said we are, at this point in time, looking at where our food comes from and realizing we can no longer afford to bring it in from California, Florida, Texas--some of the traditional sources. He said there are certainly a lot of .initiatives that the Board is aware of that are going on in the county to help get us to a point where we have good security and can produce more of our food locally. To do that, he said we are going to have to do something to deal with land fragmentation. He said it was because of knowing people that he has met through work that he chose to live out in the nuclei community where there are land owners out there who like his family, has owned land for generations and wanted to keep it in their families. He said he wanted to be a part of the solution instead of being part of the problem and that is why he chose to live out there. In closing, he said we are talking about the future of Cabarrus County, the quality of