A newly elected Board of Commissioners has outlined its commitment to combat rapid residential growth in Chatham County's 2006-07 highlights report.
The report describes a one-year development moratorium that will help limit the growing population of the county, which has increased by 55 percent since 1990, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
"Right now we probably have 15,000 houses waiting to be built," Chatham County Commissioner Patrick Barnes said. "We're not prepared for it."
The moratorium will prevent the construction of any development with more than 25 lots and allow county planners additional time to respond to the swelling population.
"Land use is critical to us," board Chairman Carl Thompson said.
With such a large number of new residential developments, the county is facing difficulties tailoring the school system and sewage system to a larger population, as well as attracting businesses and industry.
"Our growth is so rapid that our schools can't handle it," Barnes said.
Barnes added that the county needs to allow time to pass a land-transfer tax, which will finance new schools.
He also said Chatham County does not have a sewage system and depends entirely on septic tanks and spray irrigation.
These systems create environmental concerns because the majority of irrigation runs off into Jordan Lake, possibly taking harmful pesticides into the county's water source.
"We seem to be on the path of how fast we can pollute our No. 1 water supply," Barnes said.
The lack of a developed sewage system also limits commercial and industrial development, neither of which has grown at the pace of new residential buildings.
"We're lopsided with our houses and businesses," Barnes said.
Most businesses need specific types of water systems to operate. But the county cannot provide the systems, so they will not open in the area.
The new Board of Commissioners has contracted the UNC Center for Competitive Economies to put together a comprehensive plan that will appeal to commerce.
"We are looking to attract 21st century industry to the county," Thompson said.
Currently 60 percent of people commute outside of Chatham County because there aren't enough jobs, he said.
At the center of this move to reduce residential growth and attract new business, the board still wants to preserve the county as it is, Thompson said.
"We want to make sure that Chatham County's communities remain rural," he said.
In May the Chapel Hill Town Council unanimously approved a six-month-long moratorium on development in north and northwest Chapel Hill.
A task force has been meeting since mid-May to determine how development should proceed in that area of Chapel Hill.
Chapel Hill Town Council members say the moratorium is giving the town a chance to step back and evaluate how the area is developing.
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