Chatham residents invited to major corridors community meetings

Posted Monday, February 25, 2008

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Pittsboro, NC - “Citizens around Chatham County may have heard about the effort to plan commercial development along some of our major roadways, but it is unlikely they have specific details about the proposal. This is an opportunity to learn more and to ask questions or express concerns,” said Loyse Hurley, President of CCEC-Institute Inc. The Institute, which has run several educational forums in the county, is collaborating with the county to plan and host three community meetings in March.

The proposal impacting seven major roadways has been developed by the Major Corridors Task Force, appointed by the Board of Commissioners early in 2007. The volunteer Task Force is chaired by John Graybeal.

The roadways included are: US 1, US 15/501, US 64, US 421, NC 87, NC 751 and Pittsboro-Moncure Road. The plan only affects the portions of these roadways outside Siler City and Pittsboro’s jurisdictions. The towns already zone portions of these roadways within their jurisdictions.

The community meetings will allow residents and businesses to: get details on the corridor proposal; find out what the proposal means to them and their community; get their questions answered; and express concerns and suggestions before the plan is finalized.

The meeting schedule is:

· Tuesday, March 11, 7-9 pm, Moncure, United Methodist Church. Located at the corner of Old US 1 and Post Office Road, directly across from Fidelity Bank;

· Tuesday, March 18, 7-9 pm, Silk Hope, Silk Hope Elementary School. Located on Silk Hope Gum Springs Road, about 8 miles west of NC Highway 87; and

· Monday, March 24, 7-9 pm, Bear Creek, Chatham Central High School. Located on NC 902 just southwest of Old US 421.

The community meetings are intended to provide a more comfortable format for discussion and sharing of information and are scheduled well before the final public hearing, tentatively scheduled for May 19, but this date could change.

"Holding these meetings well in advance of the public hearing before the Board of Commissioners provides citizens the opportunity to study and weigh in on this critical land use issue. The major corridors proposal is a complex issue, so it is not easy to summarize in a one-page handout or a news release.” Hurley said.

The community meetings will include maps of the proposed plan, a summary of the plan’s major elements, answers to frequently asked questions, and more detailed information.

One of the major components of the proposal is that areas along these roads will be classified as either a scenic district or one of several types of commercial/economic districts. Commercial or business development will be channeled to the nodes designated for that purpose.

Because this is a proposal with many components, a panel consisting of members of the Major Corridors Task Force will be available to help answer residents’ questions. Another panelist will be Paul Black, a planner from the Triangle J Council of Governments, who has served as the major consultant to the Task Force.

Members of the Planning Board also are likely to attend to consider citizens' concerns and comments before reviewing the proposal. They will discuss the proposal at both the March 4th and April 1st meetings of the Planning Board.Information on the major corridor proposal, which is still undergoing revision, can be found on the county website http://www.chathamnc.org (look under Quick Links and select Major Corridors as an option). Background information can also be found on the Triangle J Council of Government’s website at: http://www.tjcog.dst.nc.us/regplan/chatcorr.shtml#