Ashe County Board of Commissioners Chairman Richard Blackburn
pitched the Land Transfer Tax referendum at the monthly meeting
of the Comprehensive Land Use Committee last week, but a statement
from the committee stressed that the group's work would focus
on strategies for future land use planning in the county.
According to a statement released by the committee recently, Blackburn
made the case for the controversial land transfer tax at the committee's
March 18 meeting at the Ashe County Courthouse.
Blackburn explained the reasoning for the Board's decision to
place the issue on the May ballot and the history of the tax across
eastern North Carolina.
"While this issue doesn't directly impact the committee's
work," Chris Robinson, the committee's facilitator, told
the group, "it does make sense for us to hear more about
it as community leaders and because some may confuse it with our
work as a group."
Following Blackburn's remarks, member's of the committee asked
questions and discussed the pros and cons of the proposal, according
the statement.
Following Blackburn's address, the Advisory Committee focused
on the mechanics for gathering wide-ranging public input on land-use
planning from throughout the county, the press release stated.
Based on the work of two sub-groups, the committee decided to
hold a series of public meetings in a minimum of six communities
around the county.
"The public input sessions will be both an opportunity to
share with the community the work completed thus far and to hear
about individual's vision for Ashe County in the coming years,"
read the statement.
The public input sessions will include statistical data on the
county's growth over the past several decades and also provide
detailed projections on future growth.
The bulk of the time, however, will be spent in town hall-type
meetings with members of the community focused on key questions
being developed by the Advisory Committee.
Members of the committee will lead the discussions and be available
to answer questions from the public. A time line for the public
input sessions will be developed in April.
In addition to the community meetings, the Advisory Committee
will be giving people an opportunity to comment on the key questions
both in writing and electronically. A written survey is being
composed and will be available at several locations throughout
the county.
There will also be an opportunity to participate through an online
survey. The locations of the written survey and the website for
online comments should be ready in mid-April.
In addition to soliciting public input, the Advisory Committee
is working to gather demographic information about Ashe County
that spans the last three decades. This snapshot of county growth
and change will provide a factual basis for discussion of planning
and its impact on the community. The information will be shared
with the community through the public input sessions and with
community groups in the coming months. It will also be available
on the Internet.
The Ashe County Land Use Planning Advisory Committee was developed
by the Ashe County Board of Commissioners and the Ashe County
Planning Board to provide broad-based input for future land use
plans in Ashe County. The 13-member committee includes citizens
from throughout the county. It includes appointed members from
key constituencies, and is charged with gathering input from other
citizens in the county, both on a formal and informal basis. The
committee meets on the second Tuesday of each month at 5:30 p.m.
in the third-floor courtroom of the Ashe County Courthouse. The
public is invited to all meetings. Contact: Chris Robinson, (336)
977-2313, for more information.
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