A petition is circulating in Oriental asking that the Town Board take steps to ensure that future growth in town be in keeping with the character of Oriental.

The petition comes as a developer plans to build a 9,000 square foot Dollar General Store next to the Town and Country grocery store on Highway 55. Also being discussed is a 2,000 square foot West Marine as part of that same project.

The chain stores would be

The petition is posted at The Bean, Village Hardware, Mike and Kathy's Bakery and the Village Club.

the first in Oriental. The size of the proposed stores would also stand in contrast to the homegrown stores in Oriental, most of which are 1,000 square feet or less.

Russ Stewart says he organized the petition drive because Oriental is on “the cusp” of growth. As a resident, he says, the “ultimate goal is to preserve the quality of life” we have now.

The Petition For Common Sense Growth calls on the Town Board to expand Oriental’s Growth Management Ordinance so that it would include more specific building and landscaping standards.

Buildings going up in town now are subject to three things: setbacks from neighboring properties, and limits on the percentage of impervious surface on the lot and a height limit of 42-1/2 feet. (The Town Board is about to entertain a motion to raise that height limit 5 feet. The public is invited to voice its views at a June 1st public hearing.)

Beyond the current height, setback and impervious surface limits, the town currently has no influence on what is built in Oriental.

There is, for instance, no limit on size of a building. Or on the type of business that may set up in Oriental’s Mixed Use lots. Nothing currently on the books could restrict an oil-change shop from opening on Hodges Street.

Hope Is Not A Strategy

The petition drive aims to change that. Oriental has "tremendous potential for growth,” the petition reads. "We can sit back and quietly observe the random development of Oriental and hope that the change is beneficial…. or we can take an active role in defining the direction of the growth to assure that it is appropriate and beneficial to all."

"Hope is not a strategy" the petition notes. Rather, the town should establish "standards for Oriental's growth."

"At the present time, there is no collective vision of what Oriental can or should be," the petition continues. "As citizens of the community of Oriental we have a vested interest in shaping the town's growth and our future."

The petition asks that the town board review its existing Growth Management Ordinance. The petition suggests the board make additions to the GMO, including architectural guidelines and commercial property landscaping guidelines. It also suggests a historical preservation zone, guidelines for chain/franchise businesses and guidelines for signs.

Petition Comes as Oriental Attracts Attention and Development

A recent issue of Money magazine cited Oriental on its list of best coastal areas to live. Sail magazine in its latest issue listed Oriental among the ten best places to sail to.

“We’re getting all kinds of press,” Russ Stewart says. And that he adds is likely to bring more people to Oriental, and more growth. The trick he says, “is to make the growth manageable” so that Oriental keeps the character that makes it so attractive.

Oriental residents and/or property owners may sign the Petition for Common Sense Growth which is at several locations in town, including The Bean, Village Hardware, Mike and Kathy's Bakery and the Village Club. Residents may also circulate the petition in their neighborhoods.

A number of people who don’t live within the town limits have asked to sign the petition, but the petition is limited to those who are constituents of the Town Board members.

Russ Stewart says he hopes to present the petition and the case for an expanded GMO to the Town Board at its June 1st meeting.

In response to requests Russ Stewart now has an online petition in addition the the petitions available around the village. Click here for the online petition.