Zoning plan aims to channel growth
The Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors plans to announce May 1 a new zoning proposal that would clearly define the boundaries between residential, agricultural, and industrial development in the area.
The plan, written by the Growth Planning Committee, includes a provision for an agricultural transitional zoning designation. Lands identified under this zoning definition are best suited for infrastructure development, and the zoning is intended to provide a buffer between the more rural and developed areas of the county. By doing that, the plan's writers hope to fight unchecked growth into agricultural areas.
Many of the suggestions in the plan were part of a land-use plan adopted in 2003. No zoning regulations have been put into place to enforce the recommendations since then.
"We have a tremendous problem with sprawl," said Realtor James Brown, who has worked in the area for more than 20 years.
Brown said unregulated development can lead to problems with the watershed. When homes are built away from water and sewage lines, wells and septic tanks must be dug. According to Brown, these wells can run dry in times of drought, and seepage from the septic tanks could damage the groundwater.
Mack Smith has seen the proposal as both a county supervisor for Buffalo Creek and as a local farmer. Smith said he supports the zoning ordinance but would like it to go a little further in protecting farmland from development.
Jean Clark, director of the Lexington Visitor Center, said tourism depends on maintaining the scenery and rural character of the county. Clark, who grew up in Rockbridge County, said she remembers a time when she could see one light from her house at night. Now she sees 20.
According to Clark, the very things that attract new residents to the area – space and an agricultural setting – are those most threatened by unchecked development.
"You don't want to cook the goose that laid that golden egg," she said.
Brown said some Realtors oppose the plan because of the restrictions it places on residential growth. But Brown said the long-term benefits of the zoning proposal outweigh short-term growth.
"If we plan now, we can accommodate that growth," he said.
The zoning proposal contains a long stretch of business zoning along U.S. Route 60 between Lexington and Buena Vista, as well as large areas of the new agricultural transitional zoning around both cities. That land, however, could be rezoned as residential later. There are also large agricultural transitional areas near Natural Bridge and Raphine.
The Board of Supervisors will unveil the plan for public comment in a special meeting May 1. If passed, it could go into effect as early as June.
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