WNC overdevelopment (Asheville, Boone, Madison: transplants, homes, schools)

[3chihuahuas]

Many posts regarding western North Carolina have discussed the impact and risks of heavy development in the mountain regions. In the region stretching from Murphy to Boone, which towns/counties are either overdeveloped now or will be soon, in your opinions? Not including Asheville and the immediate area, which already is built up, of course.

[chickenista]

Wow. I can't believe this post has gone unanswered. So, here's my two cents. In my 38 years, WNC has undergone massive change, but only recently has the development actually begun. The highway systems have gone in, ie "future 26" and the expansion of 19/23/74 heading west. I remember the only way to get anywhere was windy two lanes. and following them, the developments and support system shopping. Forever until now, the only living was done in the valleys and coves because all of the water and fertile soil ran down from the mountain tops. Now that people do not rely on what they can grow for sustenance, the mountain tops are subject to building. No native would ever live up top. Freeze and/or starve to death.
Madison County, where it is now snowing! is becoming completely overrun. They are planning communities larger than any of the towns. I'm talking almost a thousand homes in one development. Almost a thousand!! And there are others of three hundred plus. And in no way are they planning for this growth, no roadwork or widenings, no new fire stations or schools. It's crazy. I'm leaving. We can no longer afford it here.
And the western part of the state has the highways in, they are just waiting for interest from the shopping centers before growth explodes there. Not many people want to drive an hour for a Starbuck's or a Lowe's.
My heart is just broken that an entire way of life is disappearing, but I drive on the roads and shop in the shops because the old stores are gone and it's quicker to take the highway.
They even paved Byrd Rd. that leads into my family land in Swain. When I was a child it was dirt, and well used dirt at that. It had turned to fine powder that slid through your fingers like silk and shone with micah sparkles in the summer sun and smelled soft and sweet in the rain. If I had known they were gonna pave over that beautiful color I would have scooped it up in a jar to show my son. Crying now, gotta go.

[Southlander]

Oh, I dunno. Roads ARE a whole lot better now, thank goodness. But the areas I'm familiar with (Spruce Pine, Bakersville, Burnsville) are still pretty undeveloped. In fact, the factories are shutting down (thanks a lot, NAFTA) and these places are shrinking. My relatives still have their accents, and I doubt most of them know what Starbucks is.

[chickenista]

Yeah, good point about NAFTA. Swain etc.. is/are losing alot of manufacturing jobs too. But thank goodness for a thriving tourist trade. I think that when and if they widen 19 or when Madison puts in the proper infrastructure along 26.. sewer and water, your area will grow too. I like Burnsville, it's lovely with the hill above town. And the Starbuck's are for the transplants

[cowboy_wilhelm]

What WAS Chocolate Drop Mountain in Columbus, Polk County. That's U.S. 74 just east of the I-26 merge/split.

[Apple Annie]

That picture is worth 100,000 words.

[BrianH1970]

That is just awful. What do they intend on doing with that land?

[cowboy_wilhelm]

Another damn development.



This was taken last Wednesday, two weeks since the last rain.

[BrianH1970]

And they call that progress.

[cowboy_wilhelm]

Polk County was also named one of the top ten best places to live in rural America by The Progressive Farmer magazine. http://www.progressivefarmer.com/far...es/10polk.html

I don't guess they know about the 166 lots that have been approved in the first two months of this year and 724 more that are pending final plat approval, on top of the hundreds that have been approved just over the past couple of years and hundreds more planned in the near future.