2030 Comprehensive Land Use Plan - Pitt County Government

infrastructure improvements such as water, sewer, roads, and other public services. Asdevelopment increases due to population growth, measures need to be taken to ensure thatthe County’s agricultural resources are protected.Another area of concern – one that is not typically associated with land use planning – iscommunity health. Over the last two decades, the rates of obesity have increased dramaticallyboth nationwide and locally. Much of this increase is due to the lack of accessible recreationalopportunities, as well as the proliferation of “unhealthy” land uses such as fast food restaurantsthat offer nutritionally deficient menu options and “super-sized” portions. Land use planningcan be utilized as a tool to help improve the overall health of the community by improvingaccess to markets that provide healthy foods, as well improving access to recreational facilitiessuch as walking/biking trails. Development regulations can be amended to incorporate“complete streets” which allow for multi-modal transportation options such as walking andbiking in addition to vehicular traffic. Proper planning can also provide safe routes to schoolsto allow children opportunities to walk or bike to school.Meeting future population growth and the associated demands is the challenge of the currentComprehensive Land Use Plan update, but the challenge of the past two decades of growthwas not unforeseen. In 1990, the County’s first Comprehensive Land Use Plan documentedgrowth projections for 1990-2000 and formulated a number of strategies to ensure that theCounty was prepared for growth. In 2002, the County updated the Comprehensive Land UsePlan which projected higher growth than was anticipated in 1990, and new goals andobjectives were developed to further manage growth. Significant progress on a number ofthese strategies has been accomplished since 2002:• In 2003, Pitt County adopted its first countywide Zoning Ordinance to regulate thelocation and types of land uses that are permitted within the County.• The Zoning Ordinance established regulations restricting the size and location ofvarious types of signs within the County.• The Zoning Ordinance also established Highway Corridor Overlay Districts for the NC11 North and US 264 East/West corridors. These districts require additional screeningand buffering to maintain the appearance of the corridors.• The public school system has expanded and upgraded to serve an enrollment of over23,000 students. Enrollment has increased by over 3,000 students since the 2001-02school year. Since 2002, Pitt County Schools has added five new public schools,including two elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school:• South Central High School (2002)• Creekside Elementary School (2004)• Hope Middle School (2005)• Ridgewood Elementary School (2009)• Lakeforest Elementary (2011)• In 2005, the County developed its first Comprehensive Transportation Plan. The planrecommends improvements that are needed to provide an efficient transportationsystem during the 2005-2030 planning period.2030 Comprehensive Land Use Plan IntroductionPitt County, North Carolina 1-2