After nearly 200 years of existence, the Town of Jonesville has finally drawn out its future in black and white – or actually many colors.

These colors represent the various town zoning districts of Jonesville’s first ever land use plan. The land use plan, which was unveiled to the public on Monday at a sparsely attended forum in Jonesville’s Town Hall, is intended to give community leaders a vision of the town’s commercial and residential development for the far-reaching future.

Jonesville Town Manager Scott Buffkin said that the land use plan will assist town officials in establishing zoning ordinances and maintaining a clear, long-term vision of how they hope to further any property development in Jonesville.

“(The land use plan) will help us make wise decisions as to where development should occur in regards to commercial versus residential properties. It will also allow us to minimize land use conflicts and make sure there is no incompatible land use in close proximity,” said Buffkin.

Buffkin also explained that, while not required by law, land use plans should precede a town government’s issuance of zoning ordinances.

“Zoning regulation is supposed to follow a land use plan,” said Buffkin, adding that Jonesville’s first zoning ordinance was adopted in 1968.

The creation of Jonesville’s first land use plan was made possible with the assistance of the N.C. Division of Community Assistance. The DCA worked with Jonesville town officials and evaluated the town’s population demographics and current physical infrastructure before drafting the plan.

DCA Community Development Planner John Hanes described his organization’s role in helping Jonesville and other small, rural towns in N.C. to develop land use plans as being beneficial to the area’s future.

“Our organization helps smaller communities that don’t have planning staffs,” said Hanes. “Land use plans look 20-30 years in the future, and hopefully the town can use this as a blueprint.”

The blueprint that Jonesville’s land use plan serves as might also be called a literal and figurative “road map” for the future. The land use plan also takes into account expanding Jonesville’s commercial and town government centers and creating infrastructure – such as roads and bridges – to accommodate these areas.

According to Buffkin, Jonesville’s land use plan is a “step in the process” before the town next develops a comprehensive transportation plan with the Town of Elkin. This transportation plan would include the creation of a new bridge spanning the Yadkin River, which would eventually replace the Hugh Chatham Memorial Bridge.

Also in attendance at Monday’s meeting was Marc Allred of the Northwest Piedmont Rural Planning Organization. Allred is responsible for transportation-related issues in rural communities and relies heavily upon information gathered in town land use plans.

According to Allred, there are currently five proposed routes from which to build a new bridge to connect Jonesville and Elkin.

Jonesville’s prefered route of the five proposals crosses Valley Road in Jonesville, passes nearby the Jonesville Welcome Center, and joins Elkin with a bridge that crosses the Yadkin River at Johnson Ridge Road.

Should this route be selected by the towns of Jonesville and Elkin in the distant future, Jonesville would hope to develop the currently vacant area around the Jonesville Welcome Center into a new town center with town government buildings and shops – elements of zoning which were also accounted for in the town’s new land use plan.

While these plans may materialize years in the future, Buffkin, Hanes and Allred believe that, at the present, the most important thing for Jonesville to develop is its vision.

Buffkin was especially grateful to the DCA for its work in helping Jonesville set down this vision for the first time in a land use plan.

“DCA is the best bargain going. To have professionals who specialize in town development made all of this possible. I’d especially like to thank John Hanes, Cari Hopson and Darren Rhodes of the Piedmont’s Regional DCA office for all of their hard work,” said Buffkin.