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59 II . TRADITIONAL NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT 11 cul-de-sacs and encourage the preservation of open project progresses , the mill building itself will be con- space . In what Bowman says is an essential part of verted into living and working units by its new private smart growth, Huntersville officials have continued owner. This will incorporate an even greater diversity of to update and revise their zoning ordinances to keep people into the village, which currently has six houses pace with the changing face of smart growth . rented at below market value to residents who previ- ously rented from the mill owners . T ILL ILL . CTIJIC RE - USING A TRADITIONAL NEIGHBORHOOD Edenton Mill Village, located in the coastal plain of AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND OPEN SPACE SHARE FUNDS North Carolina , is an example of the way small-town Asheville and the surrounding land of Buncombe coun- mill neighborhoods used to be . Designed and con- ty have been subject to some of the strongest growth structed in the first quarter of the 20th century, the pressures in North Carolina. Land in farm production small, closely spaced houses changed little over the past has fallen by more than 140 , 000 acres since 1950 in the one hundred years . They were owned and rented to county. At the same time, the availability of housing that mill-workers by the mill owners . After textile produc- is affordable to a median income family has fallen in tion ceased in the last decade, Unifi , Inc . donated the recent years to 56 . 3 percent - lower than even the 114 , 000 square foot mill and the surrounding 57 houses booming cities of Raleigh and Charlotte . to Preservation North Carolina (PNC) in 1995 . The 44-acre property adjoins downtown Edenton and fronts Affordable housing is an important component of suc- Queen Anne Creek . cessful smart growth . If it is not available throughout a community, people will be forced to move further and The neighborhood was created with 60-foot-wide further from the city center to find homes at prices open spaces at the rear of lots and a larger tract along they can afford . This , in turn , leads to the loss of open the waterfront . PNC donated the easement for the space and the clogging of roads with commuters who waterfront property to Edenton for use as a community do not live close enough to their jobs to walk or take park, complete with nature trails . PNC wanted to public transportation . preserve these open areas , as well as the overall look of the village . In the summer of 2000 , the Western North Carolina Alliance and the Affordable Housing Coalition of Homeowners followed guidelines that regulated the Asheville-Buncombe County, along with other local types and sizes of additions that could be made to the groups , convinced county commissioners to create houses . To make sure potential residents knew what to an affordable housing and a land conservation trust expect, PNC interviewed every buyer and made it clear fund . The cooperation of the two constituencies is a what would be expected in the neighborhood , which groundbreaking step in North Carolina , marking the was added to the National Register of Historic Places first time such groups have approached government in 1999 . The money from home sales has bolstered together to seek such funds . Funding came initially PNC historic preservation efforts in the region , and tax from the sale of county-owned land earlier in the year. revenues from the renovated properties exceed those The county also passed an ordinance allowing the gov- from the mill prior to renovation. ernment to purchase conservation easements on critical lands . Buncombe County is now eligible to receive state The success of Edenton Mill Village is testament to the funds for farmland preservation . Both funds now have desire of people to live in traditional neighborhoods seed money - $ 109 , 000 each - and will begin raising with easy access to local community centers . As the more cash . Money from the affordable housing trust