Introduction

Community Profile 

INTRODUCTION

However, as growth and development occur, the pressure of development encroaching on the quality of life remains a possibility.  Recognizing the need to update the aging Land Use Plan, both Lee County and City of Sanford appointed Steering Committees made up of a broad cross section of area residents. The Steering Committees were charged with guiding the preparation of the County and City of Sanford 2020 Land Use Development Plan, primarily for the physical development of the County and the City.  The Comprehensive Development Plan is a policy-oriented document that allows flexibility in the physical development of the community yet at the same time employs sound planning principles to ensure a high standard of quality of life for area residents. 

The primary function of the plan is to provide a long-range comprehensive planning tool that focuses on the politics guiding physical development.  It lists goals and objectives representing a general direction that City and County leaders and citizens desire for the Community. The plan is designed to provide guidance during the review of rezoning requests, site plan proposals and subdivision proposals.  The plan should be reviewed periodically as needed to update it as a policy document that predicts and responds to the changing conditions of the community.

With a comprehensive land use plan, the Community can utilize knowledge of existing conditions – county land use, community services, population and housing trends – to project future needs.  Improved development standards can be expected.  Appropriate open space and recreation areas can be established with a land use plan.  Future growth trends can reveal which areas are best suited for residential use, commercial use or industrial use.  

Future water, sewer and street locations are important mechanisms in land use planning.  In general, where there is water, sewer and streets there is development.  It is imperative that both the City and County consider these matters when making future land use decisions.  With meager planning and inadequate development, the quality of life of the Community could deteriorate. Police protection, drug intervention, aesthetics, education, environmental issues and strategic neighborhood planning are all quality of life issues that will be discussed in the 2020 Land Use Plan.  

Regional planning issues outside of the planning jurisdiction of the City and the County that may have an impact on future growth and development should also be investigated.  These issues include: the Randleman Dam; proposed designation of NC Highway 27/24 and US Highway 1 as interstate highways; the continued growth and development of the Fort Bragg military structure; growth of the Triangle as a whole; and the proposed Chatham-Wake nuclear waste site.

Citizen participation enhances the content of this plan by creating goals established by the residents of the Community.  Overall goals and objectives determined by the citizens will set the tone for future development. The comprehensive planning process has concentrated on “neighborhoods” of similar interest to address the goals and objectives of each neighborhood through strategic neighborhood plans.  These strategic neighborhood plans will focus on the established goals, and will recommend action plans and implementation tools that will improve the quality of life within the neighborhoods.  Area plans for each neighborhood will be discussed to help decide suitable development patterns.

Background Information

The City of Sanford and Lee County make up a unique Community with a rich history, important natural resources, and a diverse economy.

Although hunters and traders knew the area as early as the mid 17^th century, permanent settlers did not locate to the area until the middle of the 18^th century.  According to historian Blackwell P. Robinson, the region was largely settled by Scotch settlers, many of them Highland Scots, fleeing oppression in their own country.

Little growth occurred in Lee County until the discovery of coal deposits in adjacent Chatham County.  In 1868, Col. Charles O. Sanford arrived in North Carolina to supervise the construction of a railroad line.  The line was to run through Chatham County, crossing the existing Western Railroad line just northwest of the Jonesboro area.  The small town that developed at the crossroads of these rail lines quickly expanded.  Today, the county is known for its extensive railroad system and diverse manufacturing base. 

It should be recognized that the largest coal deposits in North Carolina were found in Lee County.  During the early years of settlement, extracts from the once plentiful Pine trees supplied many states with tar, pitch and turpentine.  Lee County is noted for its valuable shale (clay) deposits and is one of the Nation’s largest brick producing centers.

There are several major highways that pass through the Sanford area.  These highways include U.S. Highways 1, 15, 501 and 421.  Business U.S. Highway 421 and Business U.S. highway 15/501 intersect near the downtown.  N.C. State Highways 87, 78 and 42 also pass through the area.  U.S. Highway 1 has been widened to a divided four-lane highway from Apex to Sanford and right of way acquisition has begun for the four-lane expansion of the highway south to Southern Pines.  N.C. State Highway 87 from Sanford to Fayetteville is under construction to be widened to four lanes.  Also, Horner Boulevard (U.S. Highway 421-Business) is currently being widened to a five-lane facility from Fields Drive south to Main Street. 

At the time of the Jonesboro-Sanford merger on July 1, 1947, one citizen said, “Jonesboro is about 60 feet higher in elevation than Sanford, and is a suitable location for a city, but unfortunately no Raleigh and Augusta Railroad came to Jonesboro."  Sanford Herald” interview with Mrs. LP Cox and written by Sandra Let.

Major John W. Scott is responsible for the layout of the original town limits.  He owned much of the land near the railroads where the Central Business District is today.  The first school and church were built on land donated by Major Scott.

Around 1896, W. J. Edwards and others derived the idea of pumping water to the town from Lick Creek.  Sanford prospered as the water was pumped into the town and the sewerage was pumped out.  Industry, banks and medical facilities began to appear as the town grew.

As more and more people came to Sanford, the economy grew.  Banks, industries, schools, churches, and a hospital were needed.  The population steadily grew from 236 people in 1880 to 1,044 in 1900.  The population of Sanford in 1940 reached 4,960.  The Jonesboro merger increased the population of Sanford drastically, and opened Sanford to urbanized areas southeast of the original city limits.  By 1950, Sanford had a population of 10,013.  Today, the population is about 21,518.  Much of the population increase has occurred because of annexations to the City of Sanford (Figure 4).

Average length of the frost-free growing season on the area is normally two hundred (200) days.  The latest to expect temperatures of 32° F or less is early April.  The earliest occurrence of frost in the fall is late October.  The average annual temperature for Lee County is approximately 61°F.  Seasonal temperatures range from July averages of 79°F to January temperature averages of 44°F.  Annual precipitation averages about forty-seven (47) inches with the heaviest rainfall occurring from June to September.

The fall line that separates the two (2) physiographic regions generally follows Cortland Avenue northeast to Lee Avenue and then turns eastward.  North of the fall line, the terrain varies from relatively flat areas, many of which are already developed, to very hilly areas with slopes exceeding twenty (20) percent.  The roughest terrain is located east of Sanford near Oldham’s Lake.

High density development in areas with slopes over twenty (20) percent should be discouraged because of potential erosion problems and the expense of providing public services and utilities.  South of the fall line, slopes are not as steep and are much more favorable to intensive development.

Approximately sixty (60) percent of Sanford is underlain with the Mayodan-Urban (MrB) soil classification.  It has a slope of two (2%) to eight (8%) percent.  Permeability, water capacity and shrink-swell potential is moderate for this soil.  The main limitations for most uses are low strength and moderate shrink-swell potential.  Also found is the urban land (Ur) classification, situated in the business districts and dominated by impervious surface.

The Jonesboro area is comprised of the Dothan loamy sand (DoA) with a zero (0) to two (2) percent slope; the Dothan loamy sand  (DoB) with a two (2) to eight (8) percent slope; and the Fuquay loamy sand (FuB) with a zero (0) to six (6) percent slope.  These soils can be used for cropland.  They are also suited for urban uses, and their permeability ranges from rapid to moderate.

Lee County’s streams run into the Deep River, the Cape Fear River, and the Little River.  The County has three watersheds which have been identified as water supply watersheds by the State of North Carolina.  The Cape Fear River Watershed and the Deep River Watershed are Class IV Watersheds and the Little River Watershed is a Class III Watershed.  

Housing

To plan for the future, we need a common base of assumptions about the kind of future taking shape.  We need to make assumptions about the number of people and where they are expected to live, about the number and type of households and the kind of housing they will need, about the number and mix of jobs and where they are most likely to locate.

The Steering Committees examined the trends and made projections about population, households, and jobs.  These trends tell us what can be expected by the year 2020 if current growth patterns continue.  (These projections will be updated at least every two years to reflect any changes in growth patterns.)

In 1990, Lee County boasted a population of about 41,370 persons.  Over the last decade, Lee County experienced population growth due to in migration at an annual rate of about 2 percent.   During the same period, The City of Sanford grew somewhat faster, due to annexation, at an annual growth rate of about 21.7 percent.

Population projections are educated assumptions, based on past trends and current information, about how much the community will grow in the future.  Lee County is expected to maintain its moderate growth rate into the next century.  The County population projected for year 2020 is about 75,601 people, reflecting a long-term annual growth rate of about 2 percent.   The City of Sanford growth rate will likely be somewhat higher as annexation takes in more county residents.

Lee County Population Projection for Year 2020

Sources:  US Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, NC Office of State Planning

                  And Planning Department Staff Projections using 2% annual growth rate

Sales and Marketing Magazine reported that 32% of Lee County’s 1996 households had an income of less than $20,000.  This percentage is similar to surrounding Counties and States.  Twenty-three percent had incomes over $50,000.  Equifax National Decisions Systems reported that the County had a greater percentage of households under $25,000, particularly in the $5,000 - $15,000 ranges.  Both the City and County had a similar percentage of households in the $75,000 - $100,000 ranges. 

Includ     The following Counties in N.C.: Chatham, Durham, Franklin, Greenville, Harnett, Johnston, Lee, Moore, Orange, Person, Vance, Wake and Warren.

Source:               N.C. State Date Center, N.C. RTRP Data File 1994.

But the projections for the growth in the next twenty three years, and the realistic assessment of the mounting problems associated with urban sprawl and an expanding population, alert us to the fact that Sanford and Lee County are in store for tremendous change in the future, change that may not be positive.  If we continue to develop and urbanize without changing our current course in many regards, our long term economic prosperity and quality of life will be in jeopardy.  We only have to look at other major metropolitan areas ahead of us in their evolution to see how the choices these communities made or didn’t make influenced their ultimate urban form.

1 - Economics Development

2 - Land Use and Transportation

3 - Urban Design

4 - Regionalism