Agenda - 02-25-1991 - Laserfiche WebLink

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A_ III. COMMUNITY CHARACTER AND FORM A. CURRENT PROFILE In passing through Efland, even the casual observer's eye will discover the basis of Efland's community character and form. It becomes readily apparent that the driving force behind the design and style of "Efland" is the transportation system of US 70 and the railroad. Like many of the old routes that traversed this nation and served as the means of interstate travel before the advent of the Interstate highway system, one can see from traveling US 70 across this state that it once played a crucial role in transportation. Nowhere is this more apparent than in Efland. US 70 is the linear link that ties Efland together. The development pattern promulgated during the 1950's continues to exist in the heart of Efland along this artery. This pattern is primarily single-family residential of a scale seen in "mill communities" across the state. Small wooden- frame and brick homes dot the landscape along US 70, with well- manicured lawns and significant retention of existing vegetation. The interaction and proximity of the local businesses (Forrest and Forrest, Liner's, etc) to the residential areas express the very goals Of community character that many developers are trying to recreate in "neotraditional" new communities across the nation. Efland, because of its historic ties to the railroad and US 70, already has many of these facets in place. Since 1960, however, the pattern has been altered by both the coming of Interstate s5 (and now 40) , and the suburbanizing trend in residential development. While the frame homes on small lots located south of US 70 (near the railway) continue to exude Efland's traditional mill village appearance, new subdivisions on the fringe of Efland and in rural Cheeks Township have eroded some Of Efland's focus as the social and commercial center of Cheeks Township - just as can be seen in other communities where new development occurs further and further from the core of the community. The effect of this pattern has left the US 70 corridor seemingly devoid of any beginning and end. It is impossible to classify Efland's housing stock into a single style or scale. In fact, the housing types vary not only by type but by location as well. There is not a cluster of large brick homes, nor is there a cluster of modest dwellings (save the portion of the village between 70 and the railway) . The housing types in Efland are scattered across the landscape - testimony again to Efland's pre-1960 development pattern. 22