THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, April 24, 1996 TAG: 9604240406
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY ANNE SAITA, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
For several years now, people have been lured to Currituck County by its safe communities, public education and lower property taxes.
But according to a recent countywide survey, people now fear those enticements many eventually become extinct.
Seventy-one percent of citizens on the mainland and Outer Banks responded to a 1995-96 opinion survey conducted by East Carolina University's Survey Research Laboratory Regional Development Services.
The responses indicate people now enjoy a high quality of life and especially like the county's rural atmosphere and lifestyle.
But a lot of people also worry that rapid growth will erode the bucolic flavor of the county and destroy pristine beaches, creating the same situations many hoped to escape when they moved here.
``Stop advertising Currituck to the outside. We aren't getting quality people,'' was just one of hundreds of comments county officials received to several open-ended questions.
Among objective questions, some of the major findings indicate:
Almost half of the citizens believe development would have a negative impact on their quality of life during the next decade.
Citizens would rather protect the environment than development, if given a choice.
Citizens seem to support some of the growth controls already put in place by the Board of Commissioners. But some also fear these measures are not enough.
More people want local roads to interconnect, allowing them an option to the summer's heavily congested N.C. 168 and U.S. 158.
The public library and emergency medical services received the highest ratings for county services.
The survey results jibe with a more analytical report discussed Monday night with Paul Tischler of Tischler & Associates Inc., a consulting firm based in Bethesda, Md.
``You're heading down the road of a true bedroom community of modest-priced housing,'' Tischler told the Board of Commissioners and several county staff members.
Residents also are apparently concerned with the type of housing being erected throughout the county mainland.
``Currituck County is going to be the biggest trailer park in the state of N.C.,'' wrote one survey respondent.
Those surveyed worried not only about the type, but also the amount, of development taking place.
The survey also showed conflicts arising over the level of services and amenities currently offered.
Survey respondents on the mainland complained frequently about the lack of trash collection and shopping malls normally associated with more urbanized areas.
On the Outer Banks, people were divided on the merits of a mid-county bridge to Corolla and increased accessibility to beach communities now off the beaten path.
Former urban dwellers accustomed to more public services are more likely to pay to maintain or improve them, Tischler said.
``This flies against the people who have been here for years and are comfortable with the level of services. And this will lead to clashes,'' he said. by CNB