Subdivision
proposal needs
more thought

If the trend continues, the original 66-page subdivision ordinance will be reduced to a couple of pages.
The latest proposal, from planning board chairman and developer Lacy Wilson, hasn’t been approved by the planning board but was presented to commissioners anyway. We find that rather odd.

The most troubling proposal is anything with eight or fewer lots would be unregulated. That means that only larger subdivisions would be subject to the most basic of requirements, such as road conditions and setbacks.

Another is that lots subdivided along existing road frontage would not be regulated.

Another is that the county manager, not a county planner, would be in charge of decision making. This essentially makes a county planner powerless, or assumes the county won’t even hire one. Considering this most recent proposal, there’s little need for one anyway.

Almost every county in the state has a subdivision ordinance to keep new development from looking like a corn maze. Columbus County doesn’t.

A subdivision ordinance with some teeth is important in protecting neighboring homes and development, it’s important for public safety and it’s important in protecting property values and the tax base.

Apparently, these are really not all that important here.