Village Center

A future land use area which serves as the commercial and institutional focal point of surrounding rural residential and farming establishments. Here, the highest level of rural land use activities may occur. By nature, the majority of commercial and institutional activities in Village Center areas are designed, scaled and marketed to best serve the product and service needs of the residents from the surrounding rural areas.

Land Use Types

  • Agricultural Production and Services - Services which support the surrounding agricultural community.
  • Convenience Retail - Establishments that provide retail goods and services to the surrounding rural village residents.
  • Eco-tourism - Facilities that serve a niche market and are often outdoor, sports oriented. Designed in an environmentally sensitive way to protect the valuable natural resources of the rural areas.
  • Parks and Outdoor Recreation - Small-scale facilities that serve the rural neighborhoods or are used for community purposes. These recreation facilities should be linked to the residential areas by greenways, bike trails and pedestrian paths.
  • Residential - Development at relatively high rural densities, generally not exceeding 6 units per acre and including single-family and two-family housing.
  • Rural Community Centers - Includes institutional uses such as schools, religious assembly facilities, clubs and meeting rooms that serve the needs of the surrounding rural village residents.
  • Rural Highway Retail - Small-scale, rural establishments that provide retail goods and services to the passing motorists. These uses should be clustered in a village design that complements the rural surroundings

Land Use Determinants

  • Access - Locations that are usually situated at a crossroad and are served by a rural arterial.
  • Existing Land Use Pattern - Locations where commercial, institutional and low- to middle-density residential uses have developed and that are generally surrounded by rural residential settlements.
  • Existing Zoning - Locations where commercial zoning has been established.
  • Rural Sector - Locations outside the urban service area.