Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 3, 1994 TAG: 9407050002
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: E-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By RANDI S. LEMMON
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Having read most of these pieces, I often find a common thread: hope for our region, but also fear that we, as residents of the many distinctive communities that make up this area, may not be following a course that ensures a bright future.
Much has been said by those who espouse the merits of linking Virginia Tech's ever-expanding research capabilities with Roanoke and its array of urban assets, preferably along a "smart" highway.
Others have cited our region's many natural and cultural resources as a basis for expanding on an "eco-tourism" industry to attract more, and wealthier, visitors.
Many impediments to growth have been noted. Often mentioned is the lack of regional governmental cooperation, coupled with continuous infighting among jurisdictions over revenue- and cost-sharing associated with infrastructure and economic-development assets.
Still others bewail our region's remoteness from other "thriving" urban centers, such as Charlotte, N.C., and see better highway linkage as a critical element in building a vibrant industrial base.
What has been missing in nearly all these articles is discussion of the need to develop a cooperative, comprehensive, multijurisdictional, strategic plan for our region, built on the premise of sustainable development.
Such a plan would establish a regional direction for our area by identifying our communal assets (and this includes mapping the location of those physical assets), developing strategies that would better utilize these assets, and identifying specific, phased plans for aggressively implementing those strategies.
Prior to returning to Blacksburg in 1989, I spent 10 years working as a land planner in southern New England. During my time there I was involved in a wide array of regional development and conservation initiatives throughout northwestern Connecticut.
The people in that region shared a collective vision for what they wanted for their area, and were committed to achieving their vision through solid community planning, good zoning, a high degree of public involvement in planning and development issues, and superb newspaper coverage of the entire process.
Their vision was to retain their existing New England village character and heritage. They realized that achieving this vision would require that they attract small high-tech companies, expand their eco-tourism industry, and develop well-planned retirement and second-home communities.
To articulate, guide and achieve their vision, they developed and followed regional and community comprehensive plans, most of which incorporated open-space planning components.
Conservation easements, greenway connectors, historic districts, facade easements and cluster-development techniques were regularly employed. Community zoning and subdivision ordinances interwove these techniques into their regulations to ensure that all development blended and harmonized with the overall community vision.
Having been back in the Blacksburg area now for 41/2 years, I have witnessed a number of promising local planning initiatives which eventually were either shot down entirely or tabled, often because of perceived intrusions upon private property rights.
Here are just a few examples:
The I-81 Corridor Initiative and its interchange study recommendations have thus far gone nowhere, at least in the New River Valley.
The 460 Corridor Plan, crafted to guide development along U.S. 460 between Christiansburg and Blacksburg, has been largely ignored.
The Route 114 Corridor Study along Peppers Ferry Road, leading from New River Valley Mall to Fairlawn in Pulaski, has similarly been abandoned.
The Montgomery County Open Space Plan, developed over two years and involving hundreds of county residents, was voted down 5-2 by the Board of Supervisors.
The Roanoke River Corridor initiative appears to be facing similar difficulties, though its fate is still to be decided.
But there is hope! The Blacksburg Town Council, by a 7-0 vote, recently adopted its own version of an open-space plan into its comprehensive plan, and soon will be working to amend land-use ordinances to better harmonize with the open-space plan's recommendations.
Likewise, the recently formed New Century Council appears to be heading toward a strategic-planning initiative, which could help us develop a communal vision for our region.
However, the New Century Council faces a daunting task: how to overcome the paralyzing inertia generated by those who oppose anything that deals with land-use planning and implementation of those plans.
We can and should develop large-scale vision statements for our region, such as those being developed by the New Century Council. Yet, until our citizens and elected officials face up to and address the current realities of our region, we will continue to see our taxes rise to keep pace with our unwillingness to better plan, and our most valuable natural and cultural resources will not survive for the enjoyment and benefit of future generations.
Those current regional realities are that we have inadequate land-use policies; that we are quickly outstripping our infrastructure because of unplanned, helter-skelter development; that many of our unique rural landscapes along our road systems are becoming homogenized and unsightly.
The bottom line is that our region won't achieve the lofty goals espoused by the New Century Council unless we are willing to start soon to work toward their implementation.
We are not going to consistently attract good high-tech industry. These industries won't locate in a place that does not have a grip on its future and allows its assets to be squandered while its taxes spiral upward in damage control.
We are not going to increase our eco-tourism base by allowing our landscape to continue deteriorating into ugly sprawl. Tourists will go to places that protect their community character.
Sadly, I worry for my children's future. They trace their ancestry back at least seven generations here in the New River Valley. Will they be able to find decent jobs paying adequate wages when they reach adulthood? Or will the region degenerate into a high-crime, low-wage, congested and fouled community, ill-fit to raise their children in?
Our future, and theirs, is in our collective hands. Let's grasp the opportunity before us and get to work.
Randi S. Lemmon of Blacksburg is a land planning consultant.
by CNB