WCU Studio
Open House, 9am-4pm
Pin Up, 4pm

Cashiers
Open House, 9am-2:30pm
Pin Up, 2:30pm

Cowee Community Services
Meeting, 9am
Open House, 10:30-4pm
Pin Up, 4pm

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CULLOWHEE, NC, May 17 – Friday’s Mountain Landscapes meetings at Western Carolina University’s University Center concluded three days of intensive planning discussions, covering topics as diverse as water quality, affordable housing, and downtown redevelopment. Now comes a turning point in the week-long charrette, when the suggestions, concerns and ideas of participants begin moving towards actionable plans.

Charrettes are purposely designed for this transition. Here’s an overview:

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On Tuesday night, May 20, the Lawrence Group team of consultants present a first draft of the “Toolbox” of planning and development guidelines. Between now and then, the team will explore alternative illustrations of ideas gleaned from the week of interviews and meetings. To get a feel for the Wednesday and Thursday meetings, click the date tabs on the tool bar above.

Among the meetings on Friday was a report to regional elected officials on work to date. Several county commissioners who’ve been working with the MLI effort from the beginning said they’re already feeling positive results from the process. “This has been a real education,” said Clay County Commissioner Harry Jarrett. “We’ve been looking only to the short term. We need to do a better job of educating our citizens.”

Ronnie Beale, Macon County commissioner, said, “If nothing else comes from this, we are already beginning to see the advantage of talking together.”

While the Friday sessions were in full force at Western, simultaneous mini-charrettes were continuing in Macon County’s Cowee Valley and in Cashiers in Jackson County. Here’s a glimpse of how those charrettes began in Cowee and in Cashiers. Both of those charrettes wrap today, and reports from both locations will be folded into the Tuesday-night final presentation.