For county residents who like wide open spaces, a smart growth advocate recently gave Cherokee County Council some sobering development projections.

According to a county growth study by Upstate Forever, a nonprofit organization promoting sensible growth and protecting special places in the Upstate, and Strom Thurmond Institute, the amount of developed land in Cherokee County will increase 975 percent from 11,919 acres in 1990 to 116,612 acres in 2030.

Putting the figures in a simpler form, Upstate Forever Director of Sustainable Growth Angela Viney said the expected growth will gobble up about half of the available acreage in the county.

The county’s population is expected to grow at a significantly slower pace from 52,537 in 1990 to 69,420 — a jump of 32 percent.

The implications of such massive development could adversely impact the county’s ability to attract new industries. According to Viney, the growth could place the county in non-attainment status in regard to air quality standards by the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

If that were to occur, the county would lose federal highway dollars and be forced to turn away potential industrial prospects.

To avoid the predicted sprawl, the county can enact tougher planning and land-use regulations, promote traditional neighborhoods and approve the transfer of development rights, Viney said.

In addition, the county and public utiliities could restrict unbridled growth by stopping the use of public dollars to extend utility lines into currently undeveloped areas of the county.

“We don’t want to end up like Atlanta,” she said.

A map detailing the predicted growth in the county can be viewed on Page 15 of the summer/fall edition of the organization’s newsletter, The Upstate Advocate or at the Web site: http://www.upstateforever. org/newsviews_other/ Growth_Projections_Che