The New Year could bring new strategies for West Jefferson as the aldermen are poised to adopt their first land use plan.

Seeking better management of growth and development in and around the town, the board of aldermen last year directed the planning board to begin discussions and sought the advice of Phil Trew and Duncan Cavanaugh with High Country Council of Governments on establishing a land use plan.

Trew and Cavanaugh met with the boards this year to present drafts of proposals regarding land use planning, such as regulating the appearance of commercial development, minimum landscaping requirements, coordinating new growth with existing development relating to water and sewer use, and particularly the establishment of an extraterritorial jurisdiction around the town limits.

Trew told the aldermen and planning board members that the town can establish an ETJ within one mile of town limits and that zoning regulations within the town would extend to the ETJ. This is allowed by the state, he said, so that a town can protect the areas adjacent to town limits for future annexation and expansion. This area would then be built to town standards.

Town Manager Greg McGinnis has said that the town needs to adopt an ETJ in order to protect its zoning regulations, but that an ETJ is separate from the land use plan. Just adopting a land use plan, he said, does not put an ETJ into effect. The town must notify by mail every landowner within the area being considered for an ETJ and go through a public hearing process. An ETJ will simply be a recommendation of the planning board as part of the recommended land use plan.

Since the county has no zoning, McGinnis said, the town needs to establish this area around the town in order to bring it under town regulation rather than any future county regulation. The county is currently considering land use planning and McGinnis said the town needs to act before the county establishes zoning that might impact the area around West Jefferson. If the county has zoning, then the town must seek permission from the county in order to establish an ETJ.

“We need to grow in an orderly manner rather than a reactive manner so that we have adequate public facilities available, especially to deal with the issue of zoning and an ETJ,” McGinnis said. “That is, if we adopt an ETJ and zone it since the county has no zoning, but if the county has zoning then the town would have to operate under their zoning regulations outside town limits.”

One issue of interest is billboards. McGinnis said that because the town adopted its sign ordinance prior to the state changing its law on removing billboards, the town can remove billboards within the town and an ETJ after three years. A recent change in state law requires a governing body to make a monetary payment to a billboard owner to recoup losses if the billboard is removed. This impacts the county sign ordinance but not the Town of West Jefferson.

The West Jefferson Board of Aldermen and Planning Board have scheduled a joint meeting for Tuesday, Nov. 4 at 5 p.m. at town hall to discuss the proposed land use plan. McGinnis said the planning board will then meet to vote on whether or not to recommend the plan to the aldermen. If the vote is in favor of recommendation, the aldermen will be presented the plan at their December 4 meeting and conduct a public hearing at that meeting prior to consideration of adoption.

The proposed plan was presented at a public session in September at Jefferson Station. For more information, call Town Planner Matthew Levi 246-3551.