Goldston government on verge of approving new zoning ordinances

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GOLDSTON — Unlike most of the rest of Chatham County, particularly the eastern side, the town of Goldston has seen virtually no growth in the last 20 years.

But a few circumstances are leading observers to project a change, and in an attempt to be proactive, town leaders are close to approving a Unified Development Ordinance — a document which would shape planning and zoning in Goldston in the future.

“After the sewer system was installed, the task of putting together planning was upon us,” Goldston Mayor Tim Cunnup said prior to a public hearing last week on the UDO. “It was no little task. That was a monumental task that is now going into its third year of putting it together.”

The meeting, held March 2 at the Goldston United Methodist Church, featured Chatham County Planner Hunter Glenn going through a presentation on both the town’s Land Use Plan and the proposed UDO. For a UDO to be put in place, Glenn explained, any municipality must have an official Land Use Plan.

Goldston’s plan says the town desires to “encourage future growth to occur in a way that respects the current rural character of Goldston.” That involves making the town “attractive to new and existing residents who are looking for a rural lifestyle” and “a place where you know your neighbors well, but you are not living on top of them,” the plan states, while enforcing ”reasonable limitations” on “newly-enabled” growth.

Originally incorporated as a municipality in 1907, Goldston first developed in the late 19th century after the Cape Fear & Yadkin Valley Railroad was built through the area in 1882. The town reached a 299-person population in 1990 and grew to 319 in 2000. But “the poor suitability of the soil for septic systems and a lack of a public sewer system” led to a decline in the population; Goldston registered 268 residents in the 2010 Census.

But three developments since that last Census may mean a different future for the town: construction of public sewer throughout Goldston, the overall growth of Chatham County and the potential for population expansion from Siler City to the north and Sanford from the south. The sewer, the Land Use Plan states, was a particularly important piece of infrastructure.

“The Town of Goldston is at a crossroads — the provision of sewer service, as well as the potential for growth related to nearby activities, will open the Town up for growth in a way that has not been possible for many years,” the document says. “This plan provides a basic vision for the Town to aspire to as it considers what future growth should look like, and how to craft ordinances and regulations that will enable that vision to be achieved.”

Those ordinances and regulations are listed in the UDO, a document which county Planning Director Jason Sullivan said will not be perfect from the beginning, but will lay a framework.

“That’s normal in any jurisdiction,” Sullivan said. “That first year or two is going to be rough, and there’s going to have to be changes. We’re going to run into situations where we didn’t think about a certain piece of property. There will be some frustration, but we’ll get through it.”

The UDO, initially written by the Triangle J Council of Governments, outlines regulations for businesses and homes, subdivisions, mobile homes, junkyards, off-premises signs, erosion control and stormwater and watershed protection.

“It will serve as a guide to make future land use decisions for the development of the town,” Glenn said. “Many of the impediments that were listed in the Land Use Plan have been removed. Now that there’s general growth in the area, there could be more demand for residential use and growth in Goldston as well.”

At last week’s public hearing, a couple of citizens expressed concerns with some of the specifics of the zoning map that was presented, but Sullivan said the county planning department and town board are open to changes if requested.

County planners will serve as the administrative team behind the UDO, enforcing rules and walking permit-seekers through the process. A newly-formed Goldston Planning Board and the town’s board of commissioners will be the decision-making body behind any permits or changes.

Both Cunnup and Jon Spoon, a Goldston resident and member of the Chatham County Planning Board, encouraged town residents to trust the county government employees working with the town.

“We went to the county and asked for help because we just don’t have the staff,” Cunnup said. “When we took on this task after we got the sewer, it was like, Oh my goodness, this is monumental. You can’t put it in dollars, but I bet you these guys, if you were billing it out, they’ve done $100,000, easy, worth of work.”

Spoon added, “I get it that a lot of folks are unhappy with someone coming in and tell them what to do with their land. I don’t think that’s what this process is. If you use this process to tell them what you want for the town of Goldston, you’ll get that. Now is the time to make that heard.”

An approval date for the UDO is not yet scheduled. Layton Long, chairman of the Goldston Planning Board, said the board did not yet have a scheduled meeting to look over the UDO and zoning plan again and consider changes suggested at the public hearing. Once they receive planning board approval, they will go before the town commissioners.

“We’ve finally gotten to this point, and I didn’t really hear anything tonight that would keep us from moving forward,” Cunnup said. “We’re going to address any comments that we can.”

Even though a date’s not set, it seems clear that Goldston’s residents are about to see a significant regulatory apparatus land on Main Street and beyond.

Reporter Zachary Horner can be reached at zhorner@chathamnr.com or on Twitter at @ZachHornerCNR.