Each inspector is expected to specialize. And inspectors will soon have computers in their cars, speeding up the time it takes to process inspection results. Builders and planners predict both will trigger growth spurts near Cabarrus County's border with Mecklenburg. This year, Cabarrus became only the second county in the state to pass an adequate facilities ordinance, a law that allows county commissioners to reject new subdivisions in areas that don't have ample police protection, classroom space or ambulance service. The ordinance gives county planners the power to guide new development.
Builders say it's already affecting the way they do business.
I hang up the phone every day with somebody who wants an acre lot in the county. Newly elected Republican county commissioner Arne Fennel has called for repeal of the unusual growth-control ordinance. Fennel questioned what can legally be considered adequate, and he predicted the ordinance would be challenged in court. Re-elected commissioner Jeff Barnhart said he'd oppose a move to repeal. The ordinance may need refining, he said, but it is a vital tool for handling the county's rapid growth.