Why did you get involved in the Land Use and Preservation CWG?

I asked this same question to the group members at one of our meetings early on in the process and had everyone take a couple of minutes to explain why they had gotten involved. For many people in the Land Use and Land Preservation CWG, including me, the interest stemmed from a “Not in My Backyard” incident. I got past the NIMBY focus and developed a general interest in just being a good citizen. In addition to my involvement in the CWG, I attended and graduated from the Powhatan Leadership Institute in 2007.

How do you feel about the progress the group made and the way they worked together?

As Chairman of the Land Use and Land Preservation CWG, it has been a challenge to manage a group of passionate people with diverse backgrounds, interests and desires. While we didn’t always agree with each other, we respected our different points of view and strived for compromise and balance. I think our final report reflects that.

What was the most pressing issue to be addressed for you personally?

I really didn’t have a personal agenda going into this but it became clear to me that Powhatan County needs to plan for the future by targeting areas for specific types of growth rather than allowing the current haphazard development pattern to continue.

If you could guarantee that just one recommendation of the CWG would be followed during the Comp Plan revision process, which would it be?

“Effective growth management and efficient land use policy and zoning ordinances.” I think it is most important to apply this recommendation to the Rt. 60 corridor and the Rt. 288/Huguenot Trail interchange. I have heard some people, including one of our Supervisors, describe Rt. 60 as Powhatan’s gold mine. To me, that means that we would get all possible value out of it and then abandon it. I prefer to think of Rt. 60 as Powhatan’s lifeline – something that should be carefully managed and nurtured well into the future. The same is true for the Rt. 288/ Huguenot Trail interchange. We have the opportunity there to have a world class gateway into the county.

What does the phrase “rural character” mean to you?

I have a fairly broad view of the term. The first things I think of are agricultural activities. However, with increasing land values the traditional business model of farming is becoming harder to sustain and that is very evident in Powhatan County. I also think of tree-lined winding country roads, fenced pastures with grazing cows or horses, woodlands, abundant wildlife, clean air and water, low density residential development, minimal traffic volume, small villages, quiet surroundings, down to earth people, and a night sky filled with stars. Powhatan County is quickly losing some of these rural characteristics but I think we can create the perception of rural character through the use of growth management tools such as cluster development, growth boundaries, down-zoning, conservation easements, and transfer or purchase of development rights.