The Challenge of Land-Use Planning in Haywood County, or Real Planners Never Use Plan 'A'

Haywood County was one of 11 counties to receive funding from the Appalachian Regional Commission in the fall of 1991 as part of the Mountain Area Planning Program. The Division of Community Assistance of the North Carolina Department of Economic and Community Development administered the grant. The purpose of the grant was to allow counties to look at community growth issues and identify areas of concern that required action or needed further study, and then develop recommendations for addressing these issues. The grant outline specifically recognized that counties would be at different stages in planning and managing land uses, and a great deal of flexibility was built into the process to allow recipients to follow a program and prepare a report that best suited their needs. In order to accomplish this task, the grant required that every county collect and analyze data on population, the economy and the natural and built environment; involve the community in identifying strengths and weaknesses as well as growth issues; develop recommendations; and then prepare a map that classified the county into general categories as outlined by the Division of Community Assistance. The grant proposal recommended a planning period of five to ten years for study. Grant money was to be spent within the year. On the surface, this sounds like a typical planning exercise, where you plan the work and then work the plan. Involve the citizens and people will gain ownership, ensuring that the plan will have a better chance of implementation. Public participation, where there are lots of opportunities for discussion, will help people become familiar with what you are doing, and in the end you will have a plan that provides a guideline for the future. Right? Since I've asked the question, you have probably decided that something went wrong, and you are correct. Even though the outcome was totally contrary to what we had initially hoped for, we learned several valuable lessons. Perhaps if you are tackling a difficult project you may find our experience useful