East Lincoln and Your Future. 
Are You Prepared to take Ownership?

Small Land Use Plan Talking Points

East Lincoln is the epicenter of development in Lincoln county.  We also know that this development presents major challenges in trying to maintain and develop a quality of life that will nurture our community.  To insure this future and provide our families with the infrastructure necessary for a successful and thriving community we must take ownership of our future development. 

ELBA is supporting efforts of Lincoln county and Centralina Council of Governments  to insure that  East Lincoln community residents have the opportunity to fully participate by providing a pivotal role in guiding the future of East Lincoln's development.  Centralina is a lead organization that coordinates and  develops regional solutions for growth and quality of life issues in our area.  Under the direction of the Lincoln County Commission, Centralina  has undertaken to revisit the Lincoln County Land Use Plan and due to overwhelming  growth pressures affecting East Lincoln, Centralina is initially directing its efforts on a Small Area Land Use Plan that focuses on East Lincoln.  

To insure maximum turnout, ELBA has canceled its March 22nd, General Meeting and will be working to develop maximum attendance at the Centralina public hearings.  Centralina has finalized the geographies of the thee small areas to be addressed in the Land Use Plan.  Centralina has also developed a list of the "TOP Ten" items of concern and the associated implementation action goals that will serve as the foundation for these plans.  Centralina's goal at the  small area plan meetings is to make any necessary changes to the top 10 concern items, if needed, and to engage the community in drawing up specific small area plans for these areas of concern.

Centeralina and Lincoln County, to insure that the maximum input from East Lincoln residents,  have planned a series of two  public hearings.  Round One meetings will be for input from the community on the concepts being presented by Centralina.  Round Two meetings will be presented with the adopted input from the Round One meetings.  Each group of meetings will be held on more than one evening to maximum the number of East Lincoln residents that can attend at least one of each meeting.  The meeting dates are listed below;

The Items of Concern as determined by Centralina as talking points are listed below;

STEERING COMMITTEE TOP TEN ISSUES AND ACTION GUIDELINES

Issue 1.
Infrastructure Directs Growth

1. Identify areas where public utilities and transportation infrastructure will be provided in the County

2. Review the County’s standards for mandated connections to public utility systems.

3. Focus infrastructure improvements in the near future in areas where the demand is the greatest in accordance with the County’s Capital Improvement Plan.

4. Do not place or promote denser development (i.e., residential development greater than 3 units per acre, employment centers, regional shopping facilities, etc.) in areas where infrastructure, either transportation or public utilities, are not projected or do not have capacity.

Issue 2. 
Adequate transportation infrastructure

1. Strengthen access management standards in the County’s subdivision and zoning ordinance.  Plan for bikeways, as referenced in Lincoln County CTP, and ensure connectivity for new developments into any proposed bikeway or trail systems

2. Connectivity and subdivision road standards should be codified to facilitate collector road networks as a part of new development and to facilitate the movement of emergency vehicles

3. Take steps to ensure that rights-of-way are provided and protected to facilitate logical transportation connections

4. Include pedestrian and bicycle amenities in subdivisions

Issue 3. 
Community facilities (including schools, libraries and parks) shall be considered when making land use decisions infrastructure

1. Identify all proposed locations of public facilities

   b. Allow for higher residential densities in areas in close proximity to these facilities to encourage usage, and require pedestrian accessibility to such uses

   c. Encourage dedication or preservation of land for such sites, should the development impact potential sites for community facilities

   d. Mandate and/or provide incentives for direct transportation linkages from adjacent developments to such facilities

e. Determine one or more appropriate sites for the location a new sanitary landfill and for a construction and demolition (i.e., c and d) landfill

Issue 4.
Prime employment and industrial sites are preserved;  appropriate economic development is encouraged

1. Identify and protect (from competing land uses) prime employment centers

2. Review land use regulations to ensure that desired (and undesired) industrial-type uses are addressed in the County’s land use regulations

3. Promote the inclusion of appropriate job-creating uses both in mixed-use areas and adjacent to larger residential areas to provide the potential of shorter commute times/reduced VMT

4. Make provisions for stand-alone industrial type uses to develop in designated areas in the County without being subject to “spot zoning” considerations

Issue 5.
County’s natural beauty and resources are preserved

1. Preserve view sheds along the County’s road network, especially in those portions of the County that are most likely to retain a rural character

2. Work in concert with Lincolnton to expand current greenways and recreational facilities in greater Lincolnton and beyond

3. Provide options in subdivision development (e.g., traditional, cluster-conservation, rural) with “bonuses” given for open space and land preservation.

4. Utilize the County’s master recreation plan when making future land use decisions

5. Re-examine the County’s off-premise advertising sign regulation.

6. Ensure that the integrity of the County’s historic buildings is maintained as growth and development occur.

7. Take necessary steps to preserve the County’s tree canopy    

8. Ensure that the County’s water resources, including Lake Norman and Mountain Island Lake, are not negatively impacted due to the growth in the County

1. Identify nodes/corridors where more intense developments can and should occur in the future

b. Develop design criteria to ensure that new multi-family, mixed-use and non-residential developments are integrated well with their surroundings

c. Provide incentives/mandates for developments to access and integrate with each other

d. Limit strip development; plan for more intensive developments (residential and non-residential) at identified nodes and development growth areas

e. Identify development strategies and guidelines for the placement of isolated developments that are away from identified nodes and development growth areas

f. Provide land use guideline incentives and possible relaxation of regulations for the redevelopment of older properties in those areas of the County that may be prone to disinvestment.

g. Encourage the use of conservation subdivisions, buffering, and other tools in areas where rural character and/or view sheds are considered particularly important.

h. Maintain viability of “old” NC 16 once “new” NC 16 opens

1. Identify roads that are candidates for “Scenic Byway” designation…take appropriate steps to encourage well-designed and integrated developments along such roads.

j. Provide alternatives to suburban-type commercial development at targeted locations (i.e., developments designed primarily for the automobile, rather than the pedestrian, in mind)

1. Allow for a variety of residential type developments , consistent with the preferences and recommendations of the Steering Committee.

2. Allow for density variations within individual zoning districts based on a variety of factors including: availability of utilities; location along major or minor corridors; distance from identified nodes or corridors, mix of uses, etc.

3. Apply urban design and development standards to those areas that currently are or are anticipated to be urban in nature.

1. Amend zoning regulations to allow for appropriate and well-integrated residential and non-residential developments in designated portions of the County. Such developments could include both vertical and horizontal mixing of uses and take into considering transportation and infrastructure capacities and networks.

2. Identify criteria for the placement of mixed-use developments in urban/urbanizing areas and elsewhere in the County.

3. Provide preferences/incentives in the County’s land use regulations for mixed-use development where targeted in the County.

1. De-emphasize the segregation of residential land uses

2. Allow for smaller lot sizes in urbanized/urbanizing areas of the County that have public utilities with appropriate capacity.

3. Establish criteria for the placement of multi-family and higher-density developments to eliminate spot zoning concerns

4. Allow for mixed-residential types of development (i.e., single-, two-, and multi-family) development in designated areas of the County. Address design and development standards to allow multi-family and higher density developments to better “fit in” with adjoining single-family development

5. Provide incentives for the placement of affordable housing units…i.e., units designed for families having incomes of 50-80% of the County’s median income. Do not require affordable housing mandates in the County’s land use regulations.

6. Re-examine the County’s manufactured homes  (i.e., dwelling units that are built to HUD standards, as opposed to modular homes that are built to conventional single-family regulations) to ensure that manufactured housing remains a viable option for County residents and do not detract from the appearance or value of their surroundings.

2. Develop an implementation schedule for recommendations contained in the LOP and follow through with implementation.

3. Develop a scorecard to compare the appropriateness of a proposed development or rezoning with the recommendations contained in the LOP.

4. Conduct periodic audits of the LOP to determine appropriateness of recommendations contained in the LOP.

5. Create incentives to promote development that is in keeping with the LOP guidelines.