Land Use Plan.

For some reason those three words strike fear in the minds of some county leaders. They hear those words and automatically think “zoning.”

At this month’s county Planning Commission meeting, the members began discussing priorities for the coming fiscal year. A land use plan was mentioned. The issue had been on the table just a couple of minutes when someone brought up zoning.

Adopting a land use plan does not mean the county will have zoning. A land use plan looks at past growth and issues affecting development, such as natural resources, socio-economic factors, roads and transportation systems. The plan looks at utilities, cultural and recreational services and employment trends. The plan also offers suggestions for guiding future growth. It does not set policy. It offers direction.

Think of the land use plan as a road map. Once we decide where we want to go, it helps us get there. When you decide to go to Knoxville there are several ways you can get there depending on where you are leaving from and where you are going. You may try several different routes before you pick one that works best for you. But you eventually do pick one road because if you don’t you won’t ever get there.

When I first began working at the paper in 2000, Tellico Plains was working on its land use plan. I sat through many meetings about the plan, learned a lot about the town, and was encouraged to see someone was looking out for the town’s future. Tellico Plains does not have zoning.

This past week, the Town of Vonore updated its land use plan. Vonore has had a Planning Commission since 1966, enacted zoning in 1977 and in 1979 adopted a land use plan, which has been updated over the years.

The leaders in the small towns of Vonore and Tellico Plains are smart enough to see a need for a land use plan. Why can the county leaders not see that need too?

The majority of the land in our county is outside the corporate limits of the four towns. This is where the majority of the people live and where most development will continue to take place. So shouldn’t there be something in place to make sure our rural areas don’t become a place we don’t even recognize and a place we no longer want to live?

I have been covering the County Commission and the county Planning Commission for more than five years. The subject of the need for a land use plan has come up numerous times, however nothing ever happens.

But here is what is happening. Our county is growing. The number of people living here is growing and even though the housing market is slow now, the number of subdivisions and new houses is increasing. There is more asphalt and more roads carved into the hillsides.

Here’s what else is happening. There are less uninhabited, wide-open, natural spaces.

There is one sentence in the land use plan that I wish more people would pay attention to: “Not all land is suitable for development.” And I add to that, even land that is suitable for development does not have to be developed.

It’s ironic that we are seeing more and more ads for “green” cleaning products and tips for healthy “green” living at the same time more of our natural God-given green is stripped away.

I urge our county leaders to begin work on a land use plan. Step to the helm to guide the county’s growth rather than letting too much uncontrolled growth steer us in the wrong direction.

mia.rhodarmer@advocateand democrat.com | 337-7101