http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080402/NEWS01/80402047

"Western North Carolina residents this month will have a chance to set the
agenda for a multi-county meeting in May aimed at creating voluntary
guidelines for managing growth.
....
The effort marks the first time people in a rural, multi-county area in
WNC have agreed to talk seriously about managing growth. It comes as local
governments grapple with exploding growth rates largely driven by the
beauty of the mountains. Some counties send half their property tax bills
to out-of-state addresses.

Governments have responded with a variety of laws. Jackson County recently
approved subdivision ordinance that regulates mountainside development.
Many counties have no zoning regulations at all.

The Mountain Landscapes Initiative is designed to bring builders,
government leaders and the public together to create growth management
guideless. The Community Foundation is starting with the western counties
with the goal of spreading the process to all 18 WNC counties."