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NC Highway 57 Speedway Area Small Area Plan <br />Recommendations in the following text organize goals, objectives, policies with standards, <br />implementation that the County can consider to address future development within the Study <br />Area. Task Force members have identified recommendations that they believe will best serve <br />the County's principles. Regulatory mechanisms necessary to support each principle and goal <br />are contained within each section and denoted as either amendments to the zoning text, zoning <br />atlas amendments, or other land development ordinance amendments. <br />PRINCIPLE 1 -- Preservation and protection of the rural character and nature of the area <br />Residents have expressed to Task Force members that there is already enough development <br />within the area and that additional development, both residential and non - residential, will further <br />exacerbate existing problems. These concerns are described in the scope of the plan. <br />Local residents have indicated that they are not interested in seeing the extension of services, <br />specifically water and sewer, due to cost issues and other constraints that they believe will only <br />lead to additional development within the area. Most residents and property owners have <br />indicated that they like the Study Area the way it is and are not interested in major change. <br />Chief among their concerns is that additional development will create more noise and traffic <br />issues than they want to deal with. The Task Force has received numerous complaints over the <br />amount of traffic generated by the quarry as well as the Speedway. They have expressed <br />frustration that more has not been done, previous to this Small Area Plan, to comprehensively <br />review the impacts of the existing non - residential land uses on their ability to make reasonable <br />use of their property. <br />While local residents have expressed concern over additional development, they have suggested <br />that expansion of commercial opportunities may be acceptable if the expansions preserve and <br />protect the rural character of the area. Local residents have also indicated a willingness to <br />address the conforming status of existing non - residential developments in an effort to encourage <br />those property owners to improve upon their existing development sites and to mitigate off -site <br />impacts. <br />Expansion of housing opportunities in the Study Area is not a concern. Rather, the conservation <br />of the lifestyle and rural ambiance is a significant issue. The Study Area is located in a rural <br />portion of the County where local residents have chosen to reside in an effort to escape the <br />congestion and hectic pace of urban areas. More to the point, maintaining residential property <br />values for those existing residents in and around the non - residential operations is a high priority. <br />Furthermore, controlling those off -site impacts such a noise, odor, litter, and traffic congestion <br />are at the heart of the discussions. <br />Goal 1. Any additional development shall augment or enhance the rural character the area. <br />Objective 1 -1. All new development or rezoning approvals shall enhance the rural <br />nature of the community and shall complement existing, adjacent, land uses and preserve <br />existing neighborhood aesthetics. <br />R <br />