Help shape Hickory's future

By: Larry Clark | Hickory Daily Record
Published: February 09, 2010

Hickory --

Simplification is the watchword for Hickory By Choice, the city's land development and transportation plan.

Residents will get the chance to share their opinions on Hickory's future tonight at an workshop at Highland Recreation Center.

Launched in 1999, Hickory By Choice carved the city into growth zones. One of the goals was to plan for mixed use — commercial and residential areas together. Another aim was to make Hickory pedestrian friendly.

Along the way, city officials concluded that changes in the economy and demographics demand a reduction in the number of zones. "High-density residential growth is not going to happen in commercial areas," Brian Frazier, Hickory's planning and development director, told the city council recently.

Hickory officials still want to make primarily residential areas convenient with commercial amenities such as specialty shops and supermarkets, but develop heavy business and industry in other zones. "We're trying to be realistic and clairvoyant," Frazier said. One example of realism is the weighty and complicated written plan for Hickory By Choice.

The 500-page tome is not easy to follow. Frazier and other officials are in the process of introducing more illustrations and maps, cutting back on excess text and reducing the complexity of the land-use tables.

Frazier said a central business district, residential classifications and mixed-use areas should be redefined. Sign regulations should also be simplified, he said. Hickory By Choice will continue to be implemented in the the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction, also called the perimeter zone.

That's the area that is not in a city, but is affected by municipal services and amenities. It's subject to annexation. That zone is mostly residential. One idea behind simplifying Hickory By Choice is to prompt more public input.

"The foundation is still there," Frazier said, "but it will be easier to understand." And it will be more compact and address specific needs and growth issues. The city council likes the idea of a simpler plan.

"It's a grand idea," said Councilwoman Sally Fox about a friendlier manual.