LIMESTONE CO., Ala. (WAFF) – Limestone County continues to be the state’s fastest-growing county. While growth is typically good for county leaders, one says the area may be growing too fast.
Already this year, county officials have approved more subdivision lots than in all of 2023. District 2 Commissioner Danny Barksdale says this is due to builders coming into the area to build on land because there are no zoning or building codes in the County.
“I’m not sure that as elected officials we have adequately planned for the development of our infrastructure,” said Barksdale. “All I hear is growth, growth. Well, somewhere we need to plan for that.”
Barksdale says many people are choosing the Limestone County area because of the cheaper home prices. He says nearly 10,000 people have moved into the area in just the last few years, with about 115,000 people living in the county right now.
Barksdale said the population growth improves the standard of living for everyone and gives people more options on where to live and work. But there are a few drawbacks.
”The downside to that is more people and increased traffic,” said Barksdale. “Essentially, long-term residents of District Two’s lifestyle is changing.”
Barksdale said the county has even had some issues with contractors damaging existing infrastructure as more neighborhoods and housing complexes pop.
“He will come up and develop his lot, a lot of it is in the floodplain,” said Barksdale, “He’s going to do a lot of trucking in there, tear up our road. And then he’s going to sell his lots to the builders, take his money, and go back to Birmingham, leaving us with a torn-up road.”
Barksdale said large projects, like the Mazda-Toyota Plant, are driving the county’s massive growth.
“I’m not sure that any government can plan for something like a Mazda Toyota to be just dropped in your lap,” said Barksdale. “I don’t know how you do that. I think the county and the cities have dealt with it pretty well, other than planning for the future growth.”
One thing he believes the area’s infrastructure needs to be expanded before the growth gets out of hand.
“The starting of our growth here a couple of years ago, our traffic counts on roads was probably two to four thousand cars per day,” said Barksdale. “Some of our roads are up to six dry six to eight thousand cars per day, with 10,000 being the maximum that a single two-lane road should be able to handle.”
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