TRIANGLE AREA - JOHNSTON COUNTY WANTS SLOWER GROWTH
Triangle Area. Johnston County is finding out that too much of a good thing can cause a monumental case of indigestion. In 1990 Johnston County’s population was 80,000. By 2010 it’s population is projected to be 160,000 and long range estimates say it may reach 750,000. All this growth means the need for more schools, roads, recreation facilities and utilities. During the next five to six years the public schools are projected to need $235 million, Johnston Community College will need $70 million, etc. All this is causing Johnston County commissioners to think in terms of tightening restrictions on new subdivisions. If they lower the density rates it would limit the number of new people to the area and developers would only be able to build denser subdivisions if the could prove that enough roads, utilites, schools and recreational space are in place, or being built, to handle it. As usual, if such restrictions are put in place the additional cost to developers will be reflected in increased home prices. No final decisions have been made but faced with the necessity to keep up with growth the available solutions would seems to indicate that restrictions of one kind or another may not only necessary but the only way out.
John Fish (919) 696-3474 Email: marvmax@mindspring.com Website: www.JohnFish.com
