The Wilkes County Growth Plan

The purpose of the Wilkes County Growth Management Plan is to provide a guide for development for use by the public and private sector. The Plan incorporates the ideas of land use, infrastructure, and environmental protection into specific recommendations regarding development patterns and policies.

Creation of the Wilkes County Growth Management Plan was prompted by the recommendation for a countywide comprehensive land use plan in the Wilkes Vision 20/20 Final Document. Wilkes Vision 20/20 was a joint public/private strategic planning process completed in May 1999. The Wilkes Vision 20/20 process was conducted by a task force of 145 public officials, business leaders, and interested citizens. The process involved extensive public input, including over 100 public presentations and publication of the draft document in the Wilkes Journal Patriot. The Wilkes Vision 20/20 Plan has been adopted by Wilkes County and the Towns of North Wilkesboro and Wilkesboro. The Wilkes Vision 20/20 Final Document serves as the vision statement on which this Growth Management Plan is based, and is included in the Appendix.

Development of the Wilkes County Growth Management Plan was conducted by the Wilkes County Growth Management Committee. The Committee was created by the Wilkes County Planning Board, and contains representatives of the Wilkes County Board of Commissioners, Wilkes County Planning Department, Wilkes County Economic Development Commission, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, and private industry. The Committee met with officials from the following agencies to gather information and input:

• Wilkes County Management
• Towns of North Wilkesboro, Ronda, and Wilkesboro
• North Carolina Department of Transportation
• Wilkes County Health Department
• Wilkes County School System
• Wilkes Community College
• Wilkes County Emergency Management Services
• Wilkes County Fire Department
• Wilkes County Sheriff's Department

The Committee also met periodically with a Wilkes Vision 20/20 implementation group to ensure that the Growth Management Plan reflects the recommendations of the Vision 20/20 process.

**A detailed Growth Plan can be downloaded from our Downloads page.