Mountain Landscapes Initiative – Next Steps
MountainTrue continues its support of the Mountain Landscapes Initiative, which was a major initiative in the far western seven counties (Region A) of North Carolina to kick start a conversation about planning. Initiated by the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina and the Southwestern Commission, the effort resulted in a “toolbox” of planning information for local governments.
We are carrying on the MLI work through a Next Steps grant from the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina. With that grant, we contracted with Stacy Guffey, a Macon County native and the former Macon County Planning Director, to create educational tools around land use issues, assess the readiness of each Region A county to engage in comprehensive land use planning, and make recommendations regarding where WNCA should put its resources to best support Region A planning efforts. We hope to continue working with Stacy in 2010 as we seek to support Clay County’s comprehensive planning effort.