By D. Linsey Wisdom
News Editor

Earlier this month, Mountain Landscapes Initiatives (MLI) kicked off its first community forum here in Macon County. Traveling to all seven of the western counties, MLI comes full circle to hold its last forum in Jackson County next Tuesday, April 29, at the Community Services Building in Sylva.

Working to create a “tool box” for Western Carolina, the group is in the middle of a three-step process to unify options for smart development in the mountains.

The community forums offer the opportunity to view the organization’s first step — extensive interviews in all seven counties and the Qualla boundary culminating in the creation of a short documentary. The documentary, “Seeking Balance in the Mountains” showcases a collection of residents, realtors and businesses discussing their views of the mountain region and development in the area.

“This is not a one-size-fits-all approach. This is not applied in a blanket-way across the region,” said Gabriel Cumming, outreach coordinator with MLI and facilitator for the Macon forum that was held April 3. “This is a tool box. And like a tool box, you take out whatever tool you need to fix the issue you are having.”

He said that the only way to make this a useful resource is to make sure the tools that are in it address the issues with which the people in this area identify.

Using landscape change data, looking at population densities over the years and the formation of the documentary gave the organization the building blocks for the first phase of the project. The community forums, which wrap up next Tuesday, is the second phase. All of this culminates in a week-long “charrette” to be held at Western Carolina University, May 13 – 20.

A charrette is a planning process inviting both public and private sectors to hash out ideas together in an open workshop atmosphere. By involving everyone, the charrette’s aim is to have an end product that people accept readily because they helped define that idea.

“This is an open process. Anyone who wants to be part of this process has a right to be in it,” Cumming said.

At the Macon County forum, Cumming presented population density information showing how the area has changed over the last several years and how the landscape will look in years to come. Macon County and Clay County topped the list in the number of out-of-state ownership in the county.

“People are moving in here, and when they come, they need a place to live,” Cumming said. “As you can see, it’s getting pretty crowded as a region. Now, how do we manage that growth?”

About 40 people were in attendance at the Macon meeting, and they broke into small groups to discuss their concerns about growth and their vision on what the Macon of tomorrow could look like.

Commonly discussed problems, like ridgeline and steep slope development, quickly surfaced, but other ideas came to the top as well. Primarily, the revitalization of downtowns and the need for local money to stay in the area, focusing on supporting local produce and local retailers.

“Could we require commercial buildings, when they are built here, to look like they belong here instead of Anywhere, USA?” asked Cynthia Strain, spokesperson for one of the small groups.

Several groups brought up the possibility of moving residential areas into downtowns, possible by creating upstairs apartments over businesses to bring vitality back to Main streets.

Another group asked for impact fees and encouragment of new businesses to occupy older buildings, possibly through tax incentives.

One group suggested the government switch to hybrid vehicles as an update to its fleets.

Participants also voiced concern about keeping true to Macon’s rural roots and protecting the farmland that once flourished across the county.

As forums have continued in other counties, some commonalities have surfaced, though Cumming said it was too soon to make concrete generalities – that would be addressed during the charrette.

“We have not done any systematic look across the counties, yet, but certainly concerns are shared across the region,” Cumming said. “It’s all about how to foster growth and at the same time protect the rural character.”

New Urbanism

Macon County has taken the lead with MLI, supported strongly by Commissioner Ronnie Beale. Commissioners have been lauded publicly for their support of MLI, but some residents have voiced concerns about the political roots of the group.

The ideas, and the charrettes themselves, come from a movement called New Urbanism. While on the surface new urbanism may look like smart development and promotes best practices, some say it is a backdoor entry to land control.

A major criticism is the control of private property rights.

“MLI is a NGO — none-governmental organization — with no accountability to property owners or the governments of Western North Carolina,” said Macon County resident Norm Roberts.

But Cumming defended the group’s motives.

“We don’t have any authority or enforcement over anyone’s property,” Cumming said. “We have no regulatory authority.”

He said they would be collecting the information from all seven counties and Qualla and then simply offering a resource tool for local governments.

“Any implementation or ordinances have to be made by county or local governments,” he said. “It is not to strip someone of their property rights, it is to put regulations on growth and development.” But Roberts said that the group as a selfappointed counsel does not have measures of accountability.

“MLI is introducing urban planning into the mountains of Western North Carolina, which puts planning into hands of a central, self-appointed committee instead of property owners or local government. Unlike government, this committee cannot be held accountable for their decisions by the electorate.”

Roberts also voiced concern about the group organizing the charrette.

“The Lawrence Group that is hosting the charrette is a group of urban planners from St Louis, Mo. Since when do we need planners from St. Louis to tell us how to manage our property in the mountains?” Roberts asked.

The next community forum takes place on Tuesday in Jackson County, For more information, visit www.mountainlandscapesnc.org.