By John Worden, Guest Columnist
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In order to preserve the rights and freedoms of citizens in Cherokee County and prevent more crypto mines or businesses like that from popping up and destroying our way of life, we need to be more proactive.
Like a constitutional republic, we can design a zoning system to preserve residents’ property rights, while also protecting them from having their rights infringed upon by large business from outside the county. Since we cannot legally spot zone in North Carolina, I suggest a three-zone system.
First: ARC (Agricultural, Residential & Light Commercial). This zone would allow all residents to continue to live as they do. They can live, farm or run a small business (up to 6-10 employees) on the same property. Most of the county would be zoned this way, and it would not prevent a homeowner from running a business from a residence unless pollution, waste or debris spills over the property line and affects others. Changing this zoning from ARC to BCR could be done with at least a 4-1 vote of the commissioners board, but cannot be changed to HAM zoning without the majority of the citizens popular vote on a referendum and at least a 4-1 vote in favor of the change by commissioners.
Second: BCR (Business Commercial Retail). This would be for stand-alone stores without a residence that sell goods and/or services to customers (i.e., box stores, feed stores, restaurants, hotels and other traditional storefronts). This zone would include all current commercial locations as well as properties with road frontage on the four-lane U.S. 64, U.S. 129, downtown Murphy and downtown Andrews.
It would also include all current government owned properties once offered for public sale. A residence can be built on these sites without special vote. This zone can only be changed to HAM with popular vote of the people on a referendum and vote of at least 4-1 by the board of commissioners.
Third: HAM (Heavy Agricultural & Manufacturing). This zone would be the smallest of the three. This would be sites reserved for industrial, manufacturing and heavy livestock farming (i.e., pig farms). These areas would be the current locations of Snap-on, Moog, Team, IOI, crypto mines, wood chip plants, etc. It would also include the old and empty manufacturing plants scattered around the county. Noise, some design and operation limits could be preset to ensure the companies would be a good fit for the citizens in the surrounding area.
Regular commercial storefronts could be built in these areas without special permitting. Zoning of these areas can only be changed by popular vote of the citizens on a referendum and at least a 4-1 vote by the board of commissioners after the operating company ceases operation.
Having this broad for residence/targeted for business approach allows us to be free in how we operate, yet allows us to be proactive in preventing negative businesses from setting up shop to the detriment to citizens and property values in our beautiful county.
The writer is a resident of Cherokee County.