Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone? They paved paradise, put up a parking lot."

ANSWER: So you’ve seen the glossy pictures, TV shows and movies about the romantic country life, and now you’re dreaming about “getting away from it all”.  But are you really prepared for life in farm country?
 

While there is a lot to love (and we do LOVE our farmers and our animals), it is not just about the pretty views.  Living in the country is different, and you might want to do some self-assessment (and check out Google Earth) to ensure it will meet your expectations before you sign the papers.
 

Everyone wants you to be a happy neighbor.  So, you may not enjoy rural life if these Top 10 statements apply to you:
 

• “I need good cell service and fast internet access”.  Cell service and Internet can be slow and ‘go out’ frequently in the country.  And the power goes out too— a lot.  In fact, all three are out as I am writing this.
   
• “I am generally in a hurry and don’t handle delay too well.”  Well slow down and smell the hay. You can get stuck for what seems like forever behind farm equipment, horse trailers, bikes, school buses or even loose livestock.  Narrow, curvy country roads mean you need to go slow to keep yourself, other people and wildlife safe.  Also, people don’t call you back immediately—sometimes never.  Or show up late or never. There is not much sense of urgency, and none at all during deer hunting season. Patience is a necessity.
   
• “I want peace and quiet.”  That is a rural stereotype, and you have no control over noise.  At harvest time, the lights and noisy machinery and equipment can go on all night. Or your neighbor’s dogs might bark 24/7 or the raccoons may noisily trash your trash cans at 2 am. And there is the hunting and target practice. Right-to -farm laws and non-existent noise regulation mean you can’t do anything about it.
   
• “I worry about chemical spraying, dust and erosion.” Even following all the requirements, those nuisance issues will happen with farming and forestry.  That beautiful forest next to you might be loudly harvested one day, creating burn piles smoking for a month, and remain unsightly for years. It is up to you to buy enough land to buffer situations you don’t want to be impacted by.  
   
• “I need to get to work every day on time”.  Not after a hurricane, snow or ice storm, you won’t.  It can take days.  You need to be “chill”.  
   
• “I don’t want people riding horses or walking on my property.”  Buying land with trails and closing them off jeopardizes the equestrian trail systems that keep thousands of acres in open space and are a big contributor to the history, character, economy and quality of life of Polk County.  If the horse farms become landlocked and leave, you will eventually be living in high density suburbia again. Not to mention that closing land that has been historically open and responsibly used by horses and neighbors will do nothing for your social life. We have a long tradition of sharing our land to improve everyone’s quality of life. It is why we live here.
   
• “I don’t want people hunting on my property.” Under NC law, hunting is allowed everywhere unless you post your land properly.  Many generations of  rural residents have hunted the land responsibly, maintaining healthy wildlife populations and preventing poaching.   Better to sustain an age old rural tradition and make an arrangement with the current hunters.  They are generally very respectful and helpful neighbors. Without them you will have poachers who follow no rules. And fewer friends with chainsaws.
   
• “Rural living will be cheaper”.  Not so much.  Once you factor in the cost of the trees constantly falling down and the driveways constantly washing out, not to mention the cost of the very expensive green or orange machinery you will need and the livestock you will inevitably acquire, it can really add up.
   
• "I have allergies”. Western NC is one of the worst areas for allergies in the country. People move away because of allergies. If you have severe allergies or alergy-induced asthma, you might want to seek medical advice about living in this area. We do have lots of allergy specialists if you decide to brave it.
   
• “They did it better where I came from”.  Better to just stay there, then, because you will be frustrated and very unappreciated expressing that sentiment. You may want to give rural life a chance to grow on you. But if Trader Joe’s and big box stores are important to you, don’t move here.
   

Life in the country may be different than you expect, and you might want to do some self-assessment (and check out Google Earth) to ensure it will meet your expectations before you sign the papers.
 

If you have questions about property locations and rules, contact the [link) Polk County Agricultural Economic Director. If you have other questions or need some help, [contact us]

ANSWER: County resident surveys taken during the mandated and ongoing Comprehensive Planning process have consistently and overwhelmingly shown a desire to keep Polk County rural. Top reasons include preserving its character, culture and heritage. Rural-compatible uses promote open space, clean environment, agriculture, recreation, nature and quality of life. It also produces a financially sound economy and county budget.
 

ANSWER: A primary reason for organizing as a government is to provide services to residents. A Cost of Community Service (COCS) Study is an economic analysis commissioned by a county or city to determine the revenue/expense ratio of community services to different categories of land use—Commercial, Agricultural and Residential.  

Municipalities are responsible for services such as police, street lights, garbage collection, council, staff and their vehicles, equipment and facilities. Counties have many of those expenses and are also responsible for schools, EMS, fire department and other emergency and human services, sheriff’s department, jail, environmental control, animal control, libraries, recreation and many other public services and facilities expenses.
 

These services are funded primarily by taxes assessed on land by counties and municipalities.
 

• Commercial property is generally high in assessed value and requires very few services, so the net cost for the services to that category is almost always the lowest ratio. Commercial property makes a large net positive contribution to the bottom line. Similarly, low density uses such as farms, forestry and recreation place low demand on services, requiring significantly less expense than they contribute to the budget in tax revenue. As the saying goes, “Cows don’t go to school.”
   
• By contrast, residential land utilizes most of the services, creating higher expenses than it contributes in tax revenue a net loss to the budget. Taxes on Commercial and Agricultural parcels subsidize this Residential shortfall.
   
• Communities commission a COCS Study in order understand the financial consequences of rural land loss and d residential growth, and to determine their effect on the budget and taxes. Since Commercial and Agricultural parcels provide a net gain to the bottom line, retaining or growing those land uses is financially responsible. Residential property, especially high density residential property, drives up the cost of community services significantly while simultaneously losing the “profit” from previously low density land repurposed into residential development. A COCS Study is a valuable tool in planning for future sustainable and financially responsible growth.
   

But while COCS studies are a good start, the full results of the financial value of open space use is not measured. Policy makers and residents should take into consideration these additional factors:
 

• Because only “working farms and forests” enrolled in present use tax valuation (PUV) are counted by COCS studies as Agricultural. The “non-working” farm and forest parcels are counted as Residential by default. Since these parcels are low density and often high valuation due to farm facilities, a COCS study undercounts the true revenue of these low density open space uses, AND the true expense of the non-farm Residential parcels. For example, in Polk County 669 parcels totaling 22,417 acres are ‘non-working’ horse farms, therefore counted as Residential, not Agriculture. There are 274 parcels enrolled in land use, totalling 24,067 acres. To get an accurate analysis, the revenue generated from these ‘non-working” parcels should be added to the Agriculture and subtracted from Residential to calculate the real economic benefit of maintaining open space. 

• A COCS study only includes service expenses. It does not include the capital cost of facilities such as school buildings, administrative offices, jails, fire houses and EMS stations. These are huge costs to a county as residential properties increase.
   

The Polk County COCS study can be seen [here]. The results: For every $1.00 of tax revenue, Commercial cost $0.25., Agricultural cost $0.69, and Residential Cost $1.19. 

ANSWER: Simply put, the “tax base” is the total assessed value of all the land parcels in the tax jurisdiction.
 

For many years, politicians focused on increasing the tax base, believing that the increased revenue would make their community more prosperous.
 

• Over the past 20 years, however, it has become clear this is more complicated. While increasing the commercial and open space use tax base has a positive net revenue effect, residential parcels assessed below a “break even”price actually have the opposite effect. The increased revenue is not enough to pay the increased expenses for services to Residential parcels. Residential development also causes a dramatic loss of the “profitable” land uses, particularly farm and forest land. In other words, since the low density land is converted to Residential use, the “profit” is gone and the “losses” have increased—a double “hit” to the budget. The result is an ever-increasing tax burden on all existing landowners to pay for the shortfall.
   
• To deal with the unintended financial burdens of unsustainable growth, many communities fund programs to stop or slow the loss of open space land and encourage low density uses, such as creating parks or “greenbelts”, Transfer of Development Rights (TDR or PDR) programs, Land Banks, Farmland Protection plans and Purchase, Protect and Resell (PPR) programs, among other strategies. Other options include requiring developers to pay for infrastructure or levying impact fees on developers to offset the costs of building new facilities to serve the development.
  

ANSWER: No. But Polk Rural Forever is for smart growth policies which will sustain and support our rural community and economy. Good planning policies study what the community needs and can afford. Affordable housing, for example, is a demonstrated need to support our workforce to ensure that our educational and medical institutions, businesses and general rural community have adequate human resources. This need is worth the investment of tax dollars for required services.
 

On the flip side, the high density “commuter/bedroom/highway exit” developments becoming so prevalent may result in tremendous additional tax expense to residents and overstrain resources and infrastructure but provide no support for the community’s needs and objectives.
 

Demographic and migration patterns are putting pressure on all areas in western North Carolina, but with good leadership and prudent policies, destructive change that will destroy our community is not inevitable.

ANSWER: Polk Rural Forever is an unincorporated coalition of individuals, businesses and organizations who share the objective. It is directed by a small steering committee representing the needed skill sets and experience, and operates through its four “Pillars of Engagement” committees, Communication, Networking, Education and Advocacy.

ANSWER: We will organize proactively to educate and advocate for rural issues and sustainable land use as well as preparing to respond effectively to challenges which arise by working to coordinate the community’s rapid response capacity.

ANSWER: Most skill sets are needed, some frequently and some “on call” for consulting or rapid response. The idea is to build teams to proactively work on policies and education AND respond rapidly and effectively when challenges arise. Please fill out the Volunteer form to tell us your interests.