Land Use Plan – 2002 - Stanly County, North Carolina

STANLY COUNTY
SECTION 5: ISSUES AND OPPORTUNITIES
Introduction
In order to identify and define development opportunities, as well as goals and objectives for the
Land Use Plan, it is first necessary to examine all the issues impacting Stanly County and its
citizens. The identified planning issues fall into three categories—development issues,
infrastructure issues, and community image issues—and form the basis of the development
opportunities for the county. Development issues and opportunities in turn serve as the
justification for the plan’s goals and objectives.
Citizen Participation Process
After the Phase I report has been reviewed by the Land Use Plan Steering Committee at its July
2001 meeting, a series of four public input meeting are planned to take place in mid-August
2001. The meetings, which will take place throughout the county, will allow residents to review
the findings of the existing conditions analysis and preliminary issues identified here. At the
conclusion of the public meetings, the issues identified in this section of the report will be
updated.
Issue Identification
Critical issues concerning development in Stanly County were identified by using the elements
identified during analysis of existing conditions and from the March 2001 Land Use Plan
Steering Committee meeting. This information was summarized into the following three
categories: development issues, infrastructure issues covering transportation, utility, and
community facilities, and community image issues. Figure 5-1 provides a summary of issues
and opportunities facing the future of the county.
Development Issues
Stanly County lies at the edge of the growing Charlotte metropolitan region, a region that already
encompasses much of Cabarrus and Union Counties. As indicated in Section 2, some census
tracts in Stanly County have experienced population growth rates in excess of 20 percent.
Specific development issues to be addressed in the Land Use Plan include the following:
Growth from the Charlotte metropolitan region is already impacting parts of the county,
particularly western Stanly County near Locust, Red Cross, Stanfield, and Oakboro. New
growth needs to be managed so that it does not overwhelm the ability of the county and its
communities to provide needed services.
Stanly County is just as likely to suffer from the effects of rural sprawl, as it is urban sprawl
from its towns to its rural areas. While parts of western Stanly County are definitely at the
frontier of the Charlotte metropolitan region, parts of rural Stanly County are experiencing
from scattered, unsystematic growth away from its historical population centers.
Agriculture is a legitimate land use and it should be planned for and supported by adjacent
land uses. Farmland is a valuable natural resource in Stanly County, and measures are
needed to protect and preserve prime farmland from development.
The county needs to work to identify, prioritize, and protect its most valuable land assets.
The “rolling Kansas” of west-central Stanly County, the Pee Dee River Drive corridor, and
land along Tillery Reservoir and Narrows Reservoir areas have all been identified as
valuable countywide assets worthy of preservation. Intensive development—while it should
be encouraged in certain areas of the county—need to be discouraged in places.
Land Use Plan 5-1 6/02