The Bedford Bulletin
Bedford, Va.
September 21, 2005, 6A
Editorial

Proper land use

Smart growth proponent Randall Arendt proposed techniques to help preserve open space, while creating livable developments, during a Conservation subdivision Design workshop held last Thursday at Smith Mountain Lake.
The workshop, sponsored by the counties of Bedford, Franklin, along with various businesses, developers and civic groups from the lake area, provided those attending a hands-on opportunity to learn more about Arendt's work in "bridging the gap" between land-use planning and land conservation.
In essence, Arendt said growth should not destroy farms, open spaces and woodland areas, but rather should be managed so as to promote the conservation of those areas.
And in his views, if that is done, everyone prospers.
Arendt chastised planning that doesn't require site walks of those approving developments. he stressed that development doesn't have to be the enemy of the preservation of an area's natural settings. Instead, he said, developments should enhance--and preserve--those conservation areas.
But in order to do that, it means developers, and the
governmental bodies making the regulation that those
"outside of the box" of normal subdivision planning. That means being wiling to manage developments through density requirements, instead of lot-size regulations.
Growth doesn't have to be destructive to the character of the land it inhabits-- it just has to be managed with a reasonable and thought-out plan.