The Mayoral Message
GROWTH--the hottest topic in town.
Waxhaw has worked hard to become an award winning family
friendly community--home to low crime and high performing
schools. There is frustration with how growth has been occurring
and managed, and real questions on how we will maintain the
quality of life that draws us to call Waxhaw home.
Responsible growth is a combination of good planning and leadership. As a Town, we are investing in a Growth Management Approach to reinforce the Town’s vision for the future while responsibly preparing for growth. This approach includes the following
planning and leadership actions:
1.Completion of the Comprehensive Plan. Over the past year, the
Town’s staff, led by a citizen steering committee, worked diligently to develop a new plan. The team is now in the final phase and
will present a revised draft of the Comprehensive Plan by summer. This plan - the town’s vision for growth and development will illustrate areas appropriate for open space, parks, residential,
commercial, and mixed-use development and it will provide the
necessary goals and policies explanations relating to the development process. The Comprehensive Plan will establish a standard of quality for projects in Waxhaw.
2.Completion of the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO). The
UDO is the nuts and bolts for development in Waxhaw. It translates our Comprehensive Plan concepts and guidelines into practical, enforceable laws and codifies them into one document.
3.Creation and implementation of development standards, regulations and programs that protect Waxhaw. This is foundational to
any Town and includes areas such as: infrastructure, road design,
turnover and resurfacing, construction, design, code enforcement,
erosion, and floodplains. This is vital. We have gaps in how we
do it today. And we have to get it done and get it done right if we
hope to have well planned high quality projects and stability in
our development and enforcement processes.
4.Investment in skilled resources: to properly manage these programs and plan for
the future (while addressing some of the
challenges the past created), We must invest in a professional engineer. Now!
All of this work has commenced. As it completes, process gaps in the town, which
were barriers to responsible residential
and commercial growth will be filled.
There is an enormous amount of work
involved with each of these initiatives. It is
not glamourous, it is behind the scenes, and it is necessary. We
need to get it right versus just getting it done. I'm proud of Waxhaw's citizens, volunteers, staff and our Town Board for stepping
up and taking on each of these work efforts.
As always, I’m proud to be your Mayor and welcome your input at
[email protected]
Regards,
Stephen E. Maher
Stephen E. Maher
Mayor of Waxhaw
PO Box 6
Waxhaw, NC 28173
980-939-4342
Town of Waxhaw - 1150 North Broome Street - PO Box 6 - Waxhaw, NC 28173 - 704-843-2195
Managing Editor/Events and Promotions Manager Lisa Hoffman ~ Editor and Layout Artist/Events and Promotions Assistant Kayla Harrity
Mayor Steve Maher ~ Mayor Pro Tem John Hunt ~ Commissioners Fred Burrell, Paul Fitzgerald, Brenda Stewart, James Warner
Town Manager Warren Wood ~ Town Clerk Melody Shuler ~ Deputy Clerk Kathy Queen ~ Director of Human Resources Wendy Davenport
Town Engineer/Development Services Director Dennis Rorie ~ Planning and Zoning Administer Lori Oakley ~ Chief Inspector William Whaley
Public Services Director Todd Matthews ~ Chief of Police Michael Eiss ~ Chief of Volunteer Fire/Rescue Rob Fitzgerald ~ Director of Parks &
Recreation Natalie Jackson ~ Downtown Development Manager Curt White ~ Tax Collector/Deputy Finance Officer Ann Sutton
The Village News ● April 2016 ● 3