Alamance County planners present draft land-use map; residents warn higher rural lot sizes will price out buyers

Alamance County Planning Director Matthew Hoagland presented a staff draft of a countywide land-use map and companion rural preservation ordinance at the Aug. 18, 2025, meeting of the Alamance County Board of Commissioners, prompting extensive public comment on minimum rural lot sizes and preservation of historic mill villages.

The draft map divides unincorporated county land into six districts, staff said, including agricultural (a proposed 5-acre minimum), rural residential (proposed 2-acre minimum), rural community centers, suburban transition areas, employment centers and “mill village” districts intended to preserve the look and feel of historic communities such as Saxapahaw. The proposal also includes changes to the subdivision ordinance to allow cluster, density and family subdivisions as alternative ways to achieve the same average density in the agricultural district.

Hoagland told the board the planning board gave a favorable recommendation in July 2025 to the staff proposal. He said the draft is intended to protect farmland and rural character, encourage development near existing infrastructure, and provide flexibility in subdivision types rather than instituting “old-fashioned zoning.” He also noted the proposal was informed by the county’s 2020 Land…