History of Citizens To Promote Pike The story of the beginnings of CTPP goes back several years when a small, but fired-up collection of people formed what was to become Citizens to Promote Pike, Inc. In late spring of 1999 they came together to defeat several attempts by an out-of-county landowner to convert his agricultural land into a speculative collection of industrial lots. In one of the earliest pre-CTPP meetings at the Friendship Baptist Church in the northern part of Pike Shirley Weldon, John Sell, and Ray Payne traveled around the area, stuffing leaflets in mailboxes and urging their neighbors to organize and voice their opposition to the incompatible development. Several meetings were held and the group began to voice their concerns at Planning Commission and County Commission hearings. After over a year, the re-zoning proposal was neutralized, but not defeated. During this process, the neighborhood group recognized that Pike County was in the path of explosive growth and that the County was unprepared for it. The Friendship Baptist Church movement was about to grow into the CTPP. John Sell had heard that one of his long-time neighbors, Bennie Evans, was interested in growth issues. He had worked as an opponent of the “Outer Perimeter” proposal that would have cut indiscriminately through Pike. Together, John, Bennie, and others collected data and reference materials on the pernicious effects of uncontrolled growth. They decided to have a countywide meeting to see if there was any interest. In the fall of 1999 over 80 vocal and impassioned Pike County citizens showed up to express their concerns. A committee of interested folks was formed to look into developing an organization to address these issues. Meeting at night and on weekends, the committee developed their knowledge about how unrestrained growth would impact the County. They determined that what was called for was an organization that “wouldn't go away.” One of the agreed-on goals was “Keep the rural character of Pike.” Our first name, “Citizens to Promote Rural Pike” reflected this intent. Over the course of several community meetings that year, the committee recognized that promoting smart growth had to encompass a wide range of issues beyond the traditional one of maintaining an agricultural/rural base in the County. Besides, the name was a little long and hard to remember! We also recognized that “rural” meant something entirely different to the new subdivision resident than to the farmer with hundreds of acres. Our organization was quite diversified although our goals of maintaining the “rural character” and “sense of community” were shared by all. With the able assistance of our member, attorney Tom Morton, we incorporated under our name “Citizens to Promote Pike”-known locally by those who mistook us as a “no growth group” as “you CTPP people.” Contrary to earlier perceptions such as this, we continue to advocate for well-planned, quality growth, recognizing that without a proactive approach we will forever lose the quality of life we all cherish. It was about this time that Pike County finally had hired a professionally trained planner and allowed him room to develop a new, revolutionary zoning proposal called Performance Zoning. The CTPP group was asked by the County to review it and make suggestions. Although the Planning Commission voted unanimously to adopt the Performance Zoning draft the momentum stalled at the County commission level. The enterprise was not without its success however, for our organization had the opportunity for a crash course in progressive, growth management tools and county politics! Since the initial series of community meetings at the Edwards Library, CTPP's efforts have been on several fronts. During the 2000, 2004 and 2006 local election seasons, we sponsored well-attended Candidate Forums on growth and land use issues. We advocated strongly for the now-established evening meeting of the County Commission in order to make government more accessible to more of our citizens. We supported the hiring of a County Zoning Attorney and successfully supported the hiring of a planner for the Department of Community Affairs. We have been present and active at all Planning and County Commission meetings. We've created a newsletter for our members and established a web site. In the spring of 2001 we raised the funds to sponsor a highly successful two-day “Zoning Summit” featuring the nationally known rural planner, Randall Arendt. This meeting drew federal, state, and neighboring county officials. Most importantly, over 75 Pike County residents attended. A survey indicated the attendees overwhelmingly favored deliberate, well-planned growth in order to maintain our rural character and sense of community. Building on the consultation with Arendt, CTPP members submitted a draft “Conservation Design Subdivision Ordinance” to the County Commission in the summer of 2001,and resubmitted a professionally drafted, updated version in 2006 . We are currently working with the County to implement the Pike 2020 Plan that will build upon the earlier work of citizen leaders who authored “Pike 2000”, a planning blueprint that accurately predicted many of the growth issues the County faces today. Through partnerships with other county organizations, we established “Pike County Market Weekends.” Through this strategy we hope to encourage the continuation of agriculture-based enterprises in the County. Our organization is committed to preserving the best qualities of our County by advocating for wise planning, responsible leadership and an educated, active citizenry. Through all of our growth as an organization we continue to hear the commonly expressed desire of many of our neighbors: Preserve the rural character and sense of community for Pike County. We look forward to working together to accomplish these goals.