Rural Area

Preserving Rural Heritage, Ensuring Viable Agriculture, Protecting Natural Resources, Enabling Rural Growth

The vision for the Rural Area has not changed much over time.  From providing a legacy for a future generation of farmers, to providing habitat for wildlife, assuring continued local food production, and maintaining the rural community, the vision for our rural landscape is important.

The Rural Area lies south of Indian River Road from North Landing Road to Muddy Creek and Back Bay and extends to the North Carolina border. The physical character of this area is low, flat land with wide floodplains and altered drainage. It is a place that still contains working farms, farm related businesses, limited non-residential areas along with some scattered housing sites. There is a significant presence of existing agricultural and other rural-based economic activities including traditional and specialty crop cultivation, tree farms, equestrian facilities, wetland banks, fish farms and other similar uses.

Pungo, a Rural Community Gateway

There are a few small, commercially zoned nodes that provide basic support retail and services to the local rural community.  Most notable of these is Pungo, located around the crossroads of Indian River and Princess Anne Roads.  Both roads serve as major access routes into this region. The northern two quadrants of Pungo lie in the Transition Area where limited suburban growth is recommended, and the southern quadrants are located in an area designated for rural use.   More​​