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Drexel gives a little for land-use plan

By Sharon McBrayer | The News Herald

Published: July 26, 2009

Morganton, NC - Burke County has finished a future land-use plan for parts of the eastern part of the county.
The plan, named the Urban Corridor Small Area Plan, covers the eastern suburbs of Morganton to the western suburbs of Hickory and Long View. The plan doesn't include towns and their jurisdictions that fall in the area.
Part of the plan has the town of Drexel giving up about half of its extraterritorial jurisdiction, from 1 mile to about half of a mile.
Drexel Town Manager Matt Settlemyer said the town is doing this to create a more realistic vision of what Drexel will look like in the future. The idea of the extraterritorial jurisdiction is that the town plans to grow into that area.
The town also is giving up the area so the county can rezone it according to county zoning ordinances, Settlemyer said. The town also, realistically, couldn't service some of the area with utilities. The town's remaining extraterritorial jurisdiction is already served by town utilities, Settlemyer said.
The boundaries of the area that will be removed are Amherst and Seitz Road on the north side and to Zion Road on the west side, to U.S. 70 on the south side and not quite to Enon Road on the east side, Settlemyer said.
The county's Urban Corridor Small Area Plan considers infrastructure, transportation, open space and recreation and natural and cultural uses. It even addresses things such as what types on building materials won't be allowed on structures that front, for instance, U.S. 70 and parking, lighting and signs that would be permitted.
It is currently just a plan. To implement the recommendations within it, some of the areas would have to be rezoned or text amendments added to county zoning ordinances when necessary, said Susan Berley, interim planning director for the county.
The plan is a guide for elected officials to use when making decisions about proper land uses.
The Burke County Board of Commissioners held a public hearing on the plan on Tuesday. They will vote whether to adopt the plan at the next meeting in August.