Events & Projects
Carolina Thread Trail Countywide Master Plan
Iredell County, along with its communities, Love Valley, Union Grove, Harmony, Mooresville, Troutman and Statesville, is launching an effort to develop a countywide master plan for the Carolina Thread Trail (The Thread).
The Thread is a network of trails, greenways, blueways and conservation corridors linking 15 counties in North and South Carolina. It offers a multitude of opportunities for biking, hiking, fishing, paddling and connecting with nature.
The Thread is made up of segments that are designed, built and owned by the counties and towns through which the trail network is woven. All Iredell residents are encouraged to participate in the planning process, as citizen participation is vital to the successful development of a final plan. The public is invited to participate through online and written surveys and through a series of public meetings.
The meetings will take place from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. on the following dates. The same information will be provided at each public workshop.
Tuesday, June 29th at the Iredell County Agricultural Resource Center
444 Bristol Drive in Statesville
Wednesday, July 14th at the Union Grove Community Center
1869 West Memorial Highway in Harmony
Thursday, July 15th at the Lowe’s Family YMCA
170 Joe V. Knox Avenue in Mooresville
For more information, please contact Elinor Hiltz, Iredell County Planning and Development, at 704-878-3127 or ehiltz@co.iredell.nc.us.
Board of Commissioners Approves Exit 42 Roadway Protection Overlay (RPO)
On May 11 the Iredell County Board of Commissioners placed additional zoning regulations on Highway 21 at Exit 42. The purpose of the “roadway protection overlay” is to preserve future right-of-way, improve traffic flow, and create a relatively uniform appearance on the Highway 21 corridor.
 
2030 Horizon Plan Wins Award
Iredell County is pleased to announce that the 2030 Horizon Plan has been selected by the North Carolina Chapter of the American Planning Association (NCAPA) to receive the 2010 Marvin Collins Outstanding Planning Award for a Comprehensive Plan. This award is given annually by the NCAPA to projects that show innovation in planning theory and practice, and significant advances in the Planning Field. The award will be presented at the 2010 NCAPA annual conference in New Bern, NC. The Iredell County Commissioners and Planning Board, steering committees, Clarion Associates, and citizens who participated in guiding the plan share the credit for this award along with the Planning Department. This is Iredell County Planning Department’s second planning award in two years. The first was for excellence in planning in the region and is detailed near the bottom of this page.”
Land Development Code
Over the next year the Planning & Development Department will be working on a new Land Development Code, or LDC. It will replace the current zoning, subdivision, and other land development ordinances and will contain some new regulations, because the newly-adopted 2030 Horizon Plan directed the county to create new policies. The new regulations will affect future development. Citizens are encouraged to review the code, chapter by chapter, as the chapters become available on this page. Shortly after each chapter becomes available online, the Planning Board and Board of Commissioners will be reviewing it at their respective public meetings.
County Adopts 2030 Horizon Plan!
The Horizon Plan ‘is a guide to decision-making regarding the future of Iredell County’. Click the image above to view the plan.
Lake Norman Regional Bicycle Plan
NCDOT contracted with Centralina Council of Governments to create a plan for a bike route around Lake Norman. The route will cover over one hundred miles and pass through destinations that are valuable to tourists and locals, like Davidson College and Bill’s Marina. Sidetrip destinations like Davesté Vineyards and Lowe’s YMCA are highlighted too in the brochure and route map. Many agencies and citizens participated in creating this plan and it is now near adoption.
Attention Mooresville Developers: Submit Erosion Control Plans to the Iredell County Building Standards Center in Statesville. Iredell County has assumed erosion control jurisdiction of Mooresville, Statesville, and Troutman, as well as every part of Iredell County except Harmony. Harmony developers: continue to submit erosion control plans to the DENR office in Mooresville.
Planning Department Wins Award 
Regional Excellence in Planning
On February 11, 2009, at the Centralina Council of Governments 4th Annual Region of Excellence Awards Banquet in Charlotte, the Department of Planning & Development was the recipient of the Region’s Excellence in Planning & Sustainability Award. Ron Smith, Planning Director, accepted the award on behalf of the department, accompanied with Ken Robertson, Commissioner, and Steve Warren, Assistant Planning Director. The Excellence in Planning & Sustainability category recognizes a local government jurisdiction for its excellence in local planning and its willingness to address and implement growth-related needs and other comprehensive planning initiatives.
In receiving this award, the department was recognized for its work in the development of the Iredell County Growth Report, a document containing growth management proposals geared toward dealing with the problems brought on by relatively uncontrolled growth. This study on comprehensive growth included both short and long term projects. Lead by the efforts of a diligent staff and solid leadership, the department was able to coordinate multiple projects in a collective effort. During this time period, the department was credited for initiating and undertaking the NC 3, Exit 42 and Perth Road studies as well as its work on the 2030 Horizon Plan and the Subdivision Ordinance rewrite.
County Commissioners approve Farmland Protection Plan on October 7th.
Farmers make contributions to the local economy in the form of product sale receipts and expenditures, and as stewards of the remaining amounts of undeveloped land (often called “open-space”) in the county. For these reasons, it is in the county’s interest to promote the local agricultural industry and protect farmland. Enabling farmers who want to continue to farm is a cost effective way of maintaining the quality of life of everyone in Iredell County.
On October 7th the Board of Commissioners approved the Countywide Farmland Protection Plan. The plan details a number of local, state, and federal farmland preservation programs already in effect, and suggests a number of new strategies the county can implement to preserve farmland. Suggested strategies in the plan include:
- Offer workshops to farmers on business planning and development, research, marketing, financing, conservation funding, and estate planning
- Creation of a website and other print publications to identify locally grown products. This website can also be used by farmers to identify purchasing opportunities and renting of land
- Provide real estate brokers and lawyers with Voluntary Agricultural District maps, the above “neighbor relations” packet, and printed disclosure notices of agricultural operations and encourage them to share these materials with their clients.
- Create an easy to understand brochure on the realities of living in agricultural areas and make available for distribution, and add such information to the county website.
- Tailor zoning ordinances and subdivision regulations to guide growth away from farming areas and buffer farms from neighboring land uses.
- Implement development guidelines that include soil classifications as criteria for prioritizing agricultural land
- Foster Greater Recognition and Public Support for Agriculture
The meeting is at 7:00 in the Commissioner’s Chambers-200 S Center St, Statesville.
 Demographic Forecast to 2015
Frank Warren and Associates has developed a forecast of Iredell County population between 2007 and 2015. This data is broken into high school attendance zones and census tracts. The initial intent of the project was help the local school systems to forecast approximately how many new students each school will receive. However, the County will utilize this study for general future planning purposes as well. This was a joint project that was contributed to and funded by Iredell County, Statesville, Mooresville, Troutman, Iredell-Statesville Schools, and the Mooresville Graded School District.
2007-2015 Demographic Forecast
Summary of Demographic Forecast (PowerPoint presentation)
 New Floodplain Maps
FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) updated the floodplain maps (called FIRM maps) for Iredell County, and the Iredell County Commissioners were required to approve the new maps and a new Floodplain Ordinance to continue to be eligible to receive FEMA emergency assistance. The Iredell County Commissioners adopted these map and ordinance changes in January. The newly adopted FIRMs are more accurate than the FIRMs the county had been using because of advances in mapping technology.
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