THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, April 18, 1996 TAG: 9604180391
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY CATHERINE KOZAK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: KILL DEVIL HILLS LENGTH: Medium: 97 lines
The characteristic tranquillity and unspoiled beauty of the Outer Banks may have an uneasy rendezvous with the future.
In the next five years, Dare County is going to be strongly influenced by growth in the Chesapeake Crescent, a demographic term melding Baltimore, Washington, Richmond and Hampton Roads together, says Planning Board Director Ray Sturza.
He said Wednesday at a local government forum that depending on the planning choices made by area municipalities, the Outer Banks could become overcrowded, overdeveloped and devoid of local character. Or it could carefully nourish tourism with service-based attractions, while limiting the growth that would ultimately ruin the area's inherent attractiveness.
It all comes down to quality-of-life issues, Sturza said, and how they are going to be managed.
The media, sports, culture and shopping options for county residents are nearly always linked to the Crescent area, Sturza said. And the proposed or planned improvements in U.S. 64/264 between Raleigh and Manteo, coastal highway U.S. 17, and U.S. 158 and U.S. 168 will only increase the county's connection with the rest of the region.
But as ease of travel increases for locals, so does visitor access to the Outer Banks - not a bad thing unless local planners don't provide for the inevitable. And, Sturza said, it is the residents here who will suffer the long-term consequences of unimproved roads and ill-planning.
``There ain't going to be no sense in getting in your car because you're not going to move in it,'' Sturza said.
Addressing local government planners and other officials, Sturza said Highway 158 will inevitably have to be widened to ease congestion. More traffic signals will be necessary. More law enforcement and medical services will have to be added. More moderate-priced houses must be built.
With the Outer Banks perceived as safe, clean and historically interesting, Sturza said the people will continue to flee here from crowded urban areas. Within five years, he said, the permanent population should hover around 30,500, compared with 13,000 in 1980 and about 25,000 now. At its seasonal peak, the Outer Banks in 2001 will be populated by an expected 205,170 people.
Not only do water quality and other natural resources have to be guarded and conserved while growth continues, Sturza said, native culture has to be preserved as well.
``Local people are being displaced by the change in the economy,'' Sturza said. ``The children of natives of Dare County can't afford to live here anymore.''
Sturza had closed the forum with his five-year peek into the future, but most of the day was spent with speakers looking at the dramatic change the county underwent in the last 10 years. A recent study comparing figures from a 1985 county development and management report with current data was made available at the session.
Since 1985, local and county governments have spent about $50 million on capital improvements, including a senior center, several town halls, a library, a recreation field and two schools.
In fact, Dare County was a boom town most of the decade.
``We were getting into the go-go years; when anything you touched seemed to turn to gold,'' said Glenn Miller, the former chairman of the now-defunct Area Development Coordination Association. ``You didn't have to be a mature, considerate society. We could run wild.''
But Miller said the business community has learned that unchecked growth will ruin the business climate in the long run.
``All parts of our society are now concerned with sustainable development,'' he said. ``We need to have a healthy environment to have a successful business.''
The county health director agreed that growth has to be weighed against its impact.
``Our role is to try to do the best we can; to allow as much development as we can without allowing degradation of the environment,'' said Harry Johnson.
Greg Loy, the road superintendent for Kill Devil Hills, said road management also has to be a priority.
``With no real improvement in the highway system, I can see that the next two years may be trying,'' Loy said. ``You can stay home. You can sit on the highway. Or you can do these improvements.''
While applauding Southern Shores' Blue Sky program as the way building should be done, Dare County Board of Commissioners Chairman R.V ``Bobby'' Owens Jr. said the county has to raise its standards to ensure that whatever growth it has won't be blown off by a hurricane.
``There's quality building in Dare County, but truthfully, we've been building junk,'' Owens said. ``We have to take a hard look at our building codes. Sooner or later it's going to come - that big one we keep talking about -and we've got to be ready.'' ILLUSTRATION: DREW C. WILSON/The Virginian-Pilot
Development along the Outer Banks is on the rise, and Planning Board
Director Ray Sturza says the area's population is expected to soar
over five years, reaching a seasonal peak of 205,170 people in
2001.
KEYWORDS: GROWTH by CNB