To the Editor:

On Monday, Nov. 21, the Polk County Board of Commissioners will consider a new subdivision ordinance. There will be a public hearing at 5 p.m. so that citizens can express their support (or not) for the new ordinance. I strongly support it.

This is not a zoning ordinance. Unfortunately, some who oppose the ordinance are falsely calling it a zoning ordinance to stir up fear and opposition.

The ordinance is a subdivision ordinance; it governs how land can be divided into smaller tracts. It does not regulate how land can be used (for instance, can you have a business on it; or can you build a factory on it). That is what a zoning ordinance does.

Polk County has had a subdivision ordinance since at least 1973. A subdivision ordinance has applied to land in all six townships of Polk County for at least 38 years.

The significant changes made by this subdivision ordinance apply to major subdivisions only, those with nine or more lots. That change does not apply to two-for-one subdivisions (dividing one property into two pieces), family subdivisions or minor subdivisions (eight or fewer lots).

One significant change amounts to this: instead of using lot size, the proposed subdivision ordinance uses density. This will allow clustering of dwellings that will reduce developer expense and, at the same time, enhance greenspace or open space. The difference is, with a lot size system, each lot must be a minimum of the stated lot size in the area, for example five acres.   With a density system, you would still have no more than 20 housing units in a 100-acre subdivision, but the housing units could be clustered together in a smaller area, for instance within 20 acres, leaving 80 acres of natural, open space.  There’s no requirement that housing units be clustered in the new subdivision ordinance, but it makes it more feasible than the current ordinance does, allowing more flexibility.

The planning board will decide the maximum density of dwellings in a major subdivision based on guidelines in the proposed subdivision ordinance.

Among other things, these guidelines are designed to assure not only that there will be an adequate groundwater supply for those major subdivisions not using municipal water supplies, but also that the wells supplying the subdivision will not deplete groundwater supplies in neighboring areas.

These guidelines will also take into account other adverse impacts the proposed major subdivision will have on neighboring areas. If those impacts are too severe, the planning board can reject the proposed subdivision. In other cases, it can require the developer to mitigate those impacts.

Importantly, the planning board will apply these guidelines in open, public meetings. Neighboring landowners and other interested citizens will be able to participate in the open meetings, offering their objections to, or suggestions for changes in, the proposed major subdivision and its design. That’s a significant step forward in giving residents a meaningful say concerning what developers of major subdivisions can do to their neighborhood.

This is a win-win result.

Developers of major subdivisions are freed from the arbitrary seven-acre lot size restriction in our current subdivision ordinance and granted greater flexibility in laying out the subdivision’s arrangement, particularly in terms of clustering.

The interests of neighboring landowners will now be taken into account, particularly in terms of adverse impacts on groundwater supplies and other environmental concerns. They will become participants in the subdivision review process.

The Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) Committee and the planning board, both of which unanimously approved the proposed subdivision ordinance, should be commended for their efforts in producing an innovative and balanced approach to major subdivision development in Polk County.

This subdivision ordinance is first part of the culmination of the more than 10 years of work by many Polk County citizens, and the product of many hundreds of citizens’ responses to questionnaires and comments in public meetings.  It is what the vast majority of Polk County citizens have said they want.

Please plan to attend the public hearing at 5 p.m. on Nov. 21, in the commissioners meeting room in the Womack Building in Columbus. Please arrive early so you can sign up to speak in favor of this subdivision ordinance. Comments need not be lengthy. In fact, they can be no longer than three minutes. But your support is very important, especially because opponents of the ordinance are spreading falsehoods about it to frighten citizens so that they will fight against it.

If you have any questions or want further information, please call Renee McDermott at 859-6131. You can find the text of the proposed subdivision ordinance on the county’s website (www.polkcounty.org). Go to Departments, then Planning and Zoning, then Ordinances, then Unified Development Ordinance draft (UDO). The subdivision ordinance draft starts on page 53 of the UDO draft.

– Renee McDermott, Tryon