The Garner-Clayton Record reports that the new US Highway 70 bypass that skirts Clayton has city planners busy envisioning their plan for this corridor. Unfortunately, their plan for what is aesthetically pleasing conflicts with some of the landowners who have different plans for their property.
A similar dispute over whose plan would rule occurred in Chatham County when planners proposed a scenic overlay that covered all of the major roads in the county. That plan would require a 150-foot buffer with every 100 linear feet landscaped with 165 trees and shrubs. Additionally, the plan would impose a conditional-use overlay to control all private property within a 3,000-foot-wide corridor along all major county roads. The plan would transfer 23,000 acres of private property from the property owners’ control to the control of the county commission and powerful special interests. This planners’ dream plan became an issue in the 2010 county elections and voters voted out several of the commissioners who supported the planners’ plan. See this John Locke Foundation report for the details of the planners’ dream plan.
