BC 2004 03 27 RECESSED - Laserfiche WebLink

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March £7, £004 Page 40? Overview of Cabarrus County Planning Activities Mr. Marshall reported on the work that is being done in updating the Northwest Area Plan, including the citizen-input process. He reviewed maps of the area showing the municipal and County boundaries, zoning, residential building permits (1990-2003), subdivision approvals (1980-2003) and approved and planned subdivisi6ns. Overview of Concord Planning Activities Mr. Young and Mr. Hiatt presented an overview of the current planning activities in Concord. They reviewed the Draft Land Use Plan process for the City and the development that is occurring in the Northwest Area. Overview of Kannapolis Planning Activities Mr. Mahaney, Mr. Legg and Ms. Valdez discussed the current planning challenges in the City of Kannapolis. They highlighted the following issues: water line extensions planned in areas outside the city; lack of land use control for areas outside the city; lack of annexation authority; and the creation of two service areas for the City due to the location of Lake Howell. Overview of Davidson Planning Activities Mr. Brice and Mr. Krider presented a historical overview of development in Davidson and the successes and failures of their evolving Land Use Plan. Highlights of their presentation included the following: making the Town's streets more friendly and pedestrian oriented, promoting connectivity and utilizing mixed-use developments. Overview of Huntersville Planning Activities Mr. Cox and Mr. Simoneau presented an overview of development and planning related activities in Huntersville. Highlights of the discussion included: traffic congestion, connectivity, design quality, and conformity of development. Although the Town put a moratorium in place in 2002 for the rewrite of the zoning/subdivision ordinance, Mr. Cox pointed out the moratorium did not halt development due to the number of projects already in the pipeline. Public Comments Kannapolis resident Harold W. Smith opposed the development plans for the City of Kannapolis, stating a large number of northwest area residents do not want to be annexed and Kannapolis residents do not want to pay for the City to build infrastructure in the northwest area. He said in his opinion the County should take responsibility for developing water and sewer in the entire county and urged elected officials to listen to the citizens. Review of Visual Preference Survey Mr. McCoy presented a brief review of the visual Preference Survey results. The results of this survey were very similar to past surveys and revealed that this group preferred quality development while maintaining and preserving rural, hometown characteristics and open space. Discussion by Elected Officials of Concord, Kanna~olis, and Cabarrus County Re~ardin~ Sustainable Growth in Northwest Cabarrus County Mr. McCoy facilitated a discussion of the elected officials from Cabarrus County, the City of Concord and the City of Kannapolis regarding the following questions: (1) What is the vision for the development of Northwest Cabarrus County? (2) What are the important elements in this new vision? and (3) How can you make that vision a reality? Highlights of the discussion included the following: growth in the northwest area; impact of residential development; desire for quality development; conservation easements as tools; preservation of farms/open spaces; the difference in development standards in the County and the two municipalities; and the need for coordination between jurisdictions. Important elements for the development of the area included the following: farmland/open space preservation; clustering of housing; connectivity; need to coordinate and work with surrounding communities; management of the pace of growth so schools, water/sewer, etc., can keep up; and existing county and city ordinances do not allow the preferred type of development.