Anson seeking residents’ input on new zoning ordinance

WADESBORO — Anson County is one of the only counties in the region that doesn’t have county-wide zoning, and county leaders are looking to change that over the next year as part of the 2040 Comprehensive Land-Use Plan.

The county will hold four open houses in the month of July to allow residents to give their input about what should be incorporated in a zoning ordinance. There will be a second round of open houses in the fall. These are part of Phase 1 of this effort, which is to come up with the ordinance itself, and Phase 2 is the development of an accompanying zoning map. This phase is expected to begin in the spring of 2022.

Zoning ordinances lay out how each parcel of land or area in a city or county can be used based on the land-use plan. The nearest county has partial county zoning is Dillon, and none of the North Carolina counties from Iredell to Robeson have partial county zoning, according to Anson County.

Anson County’s recently adopted land-use plan recommends that the county develop a county-wide zoning ordinance for the unincorporated areas of the county. By attending the open houses, residents can potentially have a say in a number of different areas including:

• congestion in the streets,

• access to adequate light and air,

• safe pedestrian mobility,

• preventing overcrowding of land and buildings,

• mitigating over-concentration of populations,

• the adequate provision of transportation services,

• preserving and protecting water quality,

• proper disposal of sewage,

• and the strategic location of schools and other civic uses like parks and other recreational facilities and services.

Interim County Manager Ray Allen said in an email that the county has engaged a consultant to lead this process and develop a draft of the ordinance. The county has appointed a steering committee made up of local citizens, according to Allen.

“A zoning ordinance is a key policy initiative that can help make the county more livable and prosperous by integrating physical development with environmental, social, transportation, and economic issues to enhance the coordination of development and inform decision-making,” reads a county document provided to the Anson Record. “Residents’ input from the community input meetings will be used to help develop a draft zoning ordinance that will, if adopted, help the Board of Commissioners and Planning Board make long-range land-use decisions on the growth and proposed developments in Anson County based on appropriate and relevant data from the land use plan.”

The schedule for the open houses is as follows:

• 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. on Monday, July 19 at the Pee Dee Wildlife Refuge located at 5770 U.S. Highway 52 North in Wadesboro

• 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. on Thursday July 22 at HOLLA located at 229 Main St. in Morven

• 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. on Tuesday, July 27 at the Lilesville Fire Department located at 202 West Wall St. in Lilesville

• 6:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. on Thursday, July 29 at South Piedmont Community College’s L.L. Polk Campus in the Raye Community Room located at 680 U.S. 74 in Polkton

For more information, contact Larry Newton, Tax Director/Interim Planning Director at larry.newton@anson.nc.gov.