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Resident says Harnett County land-use plan lacks enforceability; raises school budget concerns
Summary
A resident criticized the county’s comprehensive land-use plan as unenforceable after a rezoning case and urged commissioners to consider district education funding amid federal cuts that may affect local school budgets.
Kate Rykert, a county resident who said she campaigned for office last year, told the Harnett County Board of Commissioners that a comprehensive land-use plan is ineffective unless it is converted into enforceable policy. She cited a recent rezoning request in the Barbecue District—from RA-20 to commercial—that the planning board had unanimously approved and that staff found compatible with the land-use plan, yet she said county action afterward did not follow that recommendation.
"If we are to have a comprehensive land use plan, it really is nothing more than a plan. If we don't make this a policy, then we run into willy nilly decisions that don't really follow that plan," Rykert told the board during public comment. She said she attended both the planning-board review and a joint session between the board of commissioners and the board of education and said the board should be mindful of budget implications.
Rykert also raised concerns about federal budget proposals that could cut nondiscretionary spending and education funding; she cited an article noting Wake County would lose $14 million in student mental-health funds under a proposed federal change and said Harnett County had about 105 teacher vacancies posted on the county jobs site at the time she checked. She urged commissioners to consider these pressures as they consider county budgeting and policy decisions.
No county action on the rezoning or on converting the land-use plan to policy was recorded in the transcript; Rykert's remarks were part of the public comment period.
