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growth creep
or flow into
Columbus?
UNC Wilmington senior economist William Hall Jr., predicts 9 percent economic growth in the three coastal North Carolina counties – New Hanover, Pender and Brunswick – that adjoin Columbus County. Nine percent is triple the growth North Carolina experienced last year.
Brunswick County was the 29th fastest growing county in the nation last year, and adjacent Horry County in South Carolina continues to move toward southern Columbus County.
All of this is good economic news for Columbus County. While the growth of industry here has been slow, Columbus County’s proximity to the coast should be viewed as its greatest economic asset.
Any economic development efforts must recognize this and plan accordingly.
The proposed subdivision ordinance now on the table is a major leap in the right direction. If there is going to be growth in housing – and it’s inevitable that there will be because of the price of land in the coastal counties – a subdivision ordinance is a must.
County zoning is the next big step. While many people dread zoning, it will be necessary if Columbus is going to attract quality growth. Time and time again, we hear of potential developers who won’t touch projects in Columbus County with a 10-foot pole because they don’t want their investments ruined by an adjacent migrant worker mobile home park or junk yard. All of the nearby coastal counties have county zoning, as does Bladen County.
More money needs to be spent on marketing to make investors, residents and businesses in the coastal counties aware that Columbus County offers many opportunities. The county’s chambers of commerce spend what they can on marketing, but more needs to be done by the county and Economic Development.
Better roads, such as improving U.S. 701 or pushing for an S.C. 9/U.S. 74-76 connector, would do a great deal to funnel growth in this direction.
If Columbus County were an island, its long-term economic prospects would be poor. But Columbus County is hardly an island. Many Columbus County residents and businesses make their livings because of their associations with the coastal economy.
The 9 percent growth predicted for the coastal counties means their economies will nearly double in a decade. That’s an incredible amount of growth which will no doubt benefit Columbus County.
Targeted efforts to bring some of that growth here sooner rather than later should be the order of the day for economic development officials and the county commissioners.
Their efforts will determine whether growth from the coast will be at a creep or a flow.