In light of the wicked economy, the Jackson County Commissioners endowed developers with some of the alienable property rights they took away with a growth management ordinance in 2007. This upset environmentalists. Saith the Smoky Mountain News:
[Western North Carolina Alliance director Julie] Mayfield recognized Jackson County as “a regional leader in managing growth.” She praised rules that limit the number of trees that can be cut down on a mountainside lot, curb housing density on steep slopes and mandate open space within subdivisions — naming just a few of the more salient measures that set Jackson County’s ordinance apart.
