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At its core, the draft Area Performance Planning ordinance is designed to be adaptive and accommodating, while providing balanced protections to stakeholders.

Under traditional Euclidean zoning, all parcels are assigned specific zoning classifications that mandate the use of each specific parcel. Any deviation from that mandated use requires a specific change to the ordinance by an amendment to the official zoning map.

The basis for Area Performance Planning is not a parcel-by-parcel classification system, but rather a road classification system coupled with compatibility measures. The draft ordinance is intended to give county residents, property owners and potential stakeholders a clear picture of the role the county would play in land-use decisions under the proposed requirements.

In the draft, all roads within the proposed planning area – in this case, the Southwestern portion of the county – are classified as either an Arterial Road, a Collector Road or a Local Road. These classifications are based upon a long range look at the ultimate role of that roadway based on its location, design criteria and connectivity, and not merely constantly changing characteristics such as traffic counts.

Here’s a look at the road classifications:

Arterial Roads

Arterial Roads are roads of regional importance or a main road of the community. They make up the major road network of the county. Because of this, more and more traffic will use these roads as the only way to get from one part of the county to another. Some of these roads are also used for travel beginning in other portions of the state and which eventually traverse into or through Spartanburg County. A large portion of the traffic on these roadways will come from vehicles travelling through that area, not from the activities located on those roads. Although portions of some Arterials may seem residential, over the years, the roads will become busier, making the property along these roads less desirable for homes. For that reason, properties with access along Arterial Roads are more likely to be developed for non-residential uses.

Collector Roads

Collector Roads are major travel routes that often connect the Local Roads and Arterial Roads to each other. Collectors are generally shorter than Arterials, and while they will also carry high volumes of traffic, the traffic on Collectors derives from activities and residential development along these Collectors and from the high volume of through-traffic. Development of land along Collectors should be compatible with high traffic volumes.

Local Roads

Local Roads provide a way to get from residences to non-residential uses, and often connect residential roads to Arterials and Collectors.

For more information on these proposed road classifications, click here for a look at the draft Area Performance Planning document.