While many in Currituck County may oppose a proposed amendment to the county's land use plan, there are many more who favor it, says Currituck Commission Chairman Barry Nelms.

Speaking at Monday's Board of Commissioners meeting, Nelms cited several reasons why residents may favor the amendment, which could allow a tripling of residential densities and much more intense commercial development on 6,500 acres in the Jarvisburg area south of Grandy.

The county held two town hall meetings to gauge public opinion about the amendment.

In the first meeting, held Thursday, June 5, in Powells Point, residents were split over the amendment. At that meeting, residents' vote was 45 in favor of the change, while 46 voted against it. At the second meeting, held Tuesday in Shawboro, 15 voted in favor of it and while 9 voted against it.

The current land use plan's limited-service classification recommends residential development be limited to one unit per acre, but it can be increased to 1.5 units depending on whether services are in place or planned. The plan also allows low-impact commercial development.

At Monday's commission meeting, in discussing the results of the June 5 town hall meeting, Nelms said that although 46 residents opposed a full service designation and 45 favored it, there is significant support for the full service expansion.

Nelms said that while many Point Harbor residents are opposed to the change, most residents of Jarvisburg, Grandy and the rest of the county are for the full service district.

According to figures released by the county's planning department, 17 residents in Jarvisburg and Grandy voted yes and 12 voted no. Twenty-four people in areas boarding Jarvisburg to the south, including Powells Point, Harbinger and Point Harbor, voted against the expansion. Another 17 voted for it.

Nelms said that traffic is a legitimate concern for Point Harbor residents, but because of current conversations between Currituck and state officials in Raleigh, the Mid-County Bridge will likely get built.

"All the years the bridge has been floated back and forth, all of a sudden because of our contacts with Raleigh, the possibility is great that the road (bridge) will happen through the Turnpike Authority, and that will happen within a year."

Some opponents to the full service designation, including former county commissioner Paul O'Neal, said that increasing housing density will require a big increase in taxes to meet new school demands. But Nelms said that people are using "scare tactics" when they say full service development will impact schools.

The county's Adequate Public Facilities data indicates that if all the homes currently in the pipeline are built, the high school will only have classroom space for 46 additional students.

Last year, the developers of Currituck Reserve, the proposed large multi-family subdivision in Moyock, donated land to the county for a new high school. Presently, though, officials say the county does not have the money

to build one.