Rowan County planning staff and the county's planning consultant presented a draft countywide land use plan at the Board of Commissioners' Nov. 17 meeting and the board voted to place the item on next meeting consent while staff addresses follow-up questions.

Jason Eppley, the plan consultant, said the document is intended as “a broad, community-based vision, for the future growth and development of the county, to help guide capital investments and future community initiatives, and also, very important is compliance, with state law.” He told the board the process included background research, expert interviews, public drop-in meetings and a community survey that drew more than 500 participants. Eppley said Rowan’s population grew by roughly 8,500 people between 2010 and 2020.

The draft future land use map organizes the county into five categories — countryside, suburban, community, rural commerce and industry, and transportation corridors — and recommends implementation through zoning and development regulation updates and small-area plans in places where utilities or road capacity warrant more detailed study.

Commissioners pressed staff on the NC 150 corridor, which consultants and staff said has limited utility infrastructure and unfunded NCDOT improvements, and therefore the plan recommends lower-density development there for the near term and a targeted small-area plan to study options and coordinate with NCDOT. Staff said utility availability and roadway classification (principal arterial vs. major or minor collector) will strongly affect what nonresidential development is appropriate in a given location.

Staff described the county's current administrative subdivision review process (technical review committee) and noted that, under current practice, a "major subdivision" is defined as anything over eight lots; the plan would prompt policy conversations about thresholds (lot count, density, water access) that could alter when a public process is required.

During the public hearing, a resident identified as Terry Thomas (China Grove area) described a recent annexation that produced a proposed light‑industrial warehouse plan adjacent to his neighborhood. Thomas said the developer's plan showed about 2.25 million square feet of warehousing with an NCDOT traffic impact analysis forecasting thousands of trips per day, and he criticized the town’s 30‑foot buffer in the Unified Development Ordinance as inadequate for protecting nearby county residents’ quality of life. He urged earlier county involvement in annexation negotiations and conditional approvals so county residents can offer meaningful input.

After public comment, commissioners thanked the resident and discussed next steps. One commissioner asked for time to "flush out" issues raised during the presentation and hearing; a motion to place the land use plan on next meeting consent so staff could address follow-ups was seconded and approved by voice vote.

The board did not adopt the plan on Nov. 17; the commission scheduled further consideration at the next meeting. Staff said ordinance changes (zoning and subdivision code consolidation) and additional small-area planning would be needed to implement the plan if adopted.

What’s next: The plan will return to the Board of Commissioners at the next regularly scheduled meeting as a consent agenda item for possible adoption, after staff follows up on NC 150 corridor details, subdivision thresholds and intergovernmental coordination regarding annexation and utilities.