Egan said some ridges may not be visible from any roadway, but the county can name every ridge if that’s the direction the board wants to go. Egan suggested for purposes of enforcement and administration that the board create a map.

Discussions on what the county may be considering to regulate near ridge tops expanded when board member Michael Alexrod showed pictures of houses on White Oak Mountain, which he said is visible from his house.

White houses on the mountain stood out more than the color of the condominiums at the top, which sparked discussion of possible color requirements.

Board member Bill Ennis said if the homes pictured weren’t white, they wouldn’t even be seen.

Board members also discussed the possibility of regulating clearing of the building footprint. One house shown had clearing in both the front and rear of the home near the ridgeline with David Smith saying if Polk follows Lake Lure’s regulations, the homeowner wouldn’t have been able to clear in the back of the property.

Due to the color of the condominiums, if it weren’t for the clearing they would barely be visible, members said.

Planning board members left the meeting asked to think about how they want to regulate ridgelines in terms of height of structure, height above the ridge, vegetative screening, building color and lighting.

The planning department and Smith plan to have maps of Polk’s ridges available at the next meeting, which is scheduled for Dec. 13 at 5 p.m.

The Polk County Board of Commissioners has a workshop scheduled for Monday, Nov. 19 at 3 p.m. to discuss the rest of the proposed UDO, which has been approved and recommended by the planning board.