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Several years ago Barbara Kirby, 70, was supposed to retire. She was going to spend more time with her family, dust off the oil paints and get to work on that. She also was going to dedicate herself to historical research.
But somehow it didn't work out that way.
Kirby, who had been an active participant in Stafford County government for some time, became a member of the Planning Commission, and hopes of spending more time with her family and her other interests went back up into the theoretical attic.
She gives the commission as much as 40 hours a week, getting calls at home about projects and hopping into her car at all hours to see firsthand where new development is going to go.
Often she remembers the paints, the kids and the grand kids, but she also remembers something someone once told her: "If you're ever in a position to give something back to the community, you should do it."
So she does.
Kirby was born in Oklahoma City, but moved to Stafford with her husband and three children in 1988. She doesn't plan to leave.
"This is one of the most beautiful counties, and I've met some of the most fabulous people," she says.
Kirby was a homemaker and a researcher for most of her adult life. But problems she saw within her community nagged at her, so she made it a point to attend government meetings and see what could be done to make things better.
"I kept bugging them, and I think they just gave me a job to shut me up," she says, laughing.
Kirby was appointed to the commission 12 years ago.
Recently she agreed to give an interview to The Free Lance-Star about what she's observed. Here are some excerpts from that interview.
QWhy do you stay on the Planning Commission?
ADarned if I know. They tell me: 'You can't leave. You're the one that takes care of the cemeteries, the historic stuff.' I guess I want to protect the county. This is a beautiful county. I have met some fantastic people.
QWhat were the big issues when you first started on the commission?
AGrowth, and at that time we were also worried about water. Since that time we've done a lot of things that have helped on that. Also bringing in economic development. You need the commercial to offset some of those residential developments. Also we worried about schools and parks and rec.
QSo the issues haven't changed much?
AWell, you still have the problem of growth. You still have the issue with the Dillon Rule. I can look at the problem from both sides. The rule stops boards from passing too many taxes, but in our situation we have to go on bended knee to Richmond to ask for something, and we don't get anything.
QIs the county where you thought it would be?
AIf we had more planning knowledge we would have realized we're halfway on I-95 between Richmond and D.C. and that this is where there was going to be growth. There were members of the Board of Supervisors who saw that coming. They said, 'We've got to do these things.' But if you don't have the authority to do it, you can't do it.
QExplain what it is the commission does.
AIt's the first line of the Board of Supervisors. We look at site plans, rezoning, personal easements, that sort of thing. We look that over to see if it fits all the rules and regulations that we have. For instance, traffic and roads, the Chesapeake Bay Act. We look at the developer and the county and see what they're offering, and go from there.
QWhat is the background of those appointed to the commission?
AThe backgrounds are varied. We have an engineer, a planner, a business owner, a farmer. At our meetings our interests are varied.
QShould there be something to make members more proficient in planning?
AThe county pays for you to be a certified planner. We have training on these things. And when you sit in on meetings like technical review, you're going to learn a lot. I know more about sewers than I ever wanted to know.
QHow much time a week do you spend on this?
AOh, wow, this month I probably spent close to 40 hours just on meetings. Beyond that, when we get our package, usually on a Saturday morning, I will spend most of that day going through that package. Oftentimes I'll get in my car and drive out there.
QWhat's your salary?
AAbout $500 a month. It just pays for gas and wear and tear on your car.
QWhat's a common misconception about the commission?
APeople think we have a lot more power than we do. They think we can say, 'No you can't build that house.' We have a lot of by-right land. Last month 800 house were built by-right. That's not rezoned property. They don't have to ask us for anything. They can go ahead and build. They don't have to pay. We should have a set rule that is the same for everyone. That's one thing that does really bother me.
There's something else that bothers me. The fact that we are losing affordable housing. I find it morally wrong that a firefighter, who puts his life on the line, can't live here because it's too expensive. The General Assembly should offer some tax relief. That's the way to go.
QSo other communities outside Virginia provide more power to planning commissions?
AOh, yeah. They can almost stop growth.
QOne of the biggest concerns residents in the county have is growth. What do you suggest they do?
AI always encourage people to come to the meetings. When they become involved in it, it makes us sit up and take notice. When a developer comes before the board and there's nobody there they think, 'Well obviously it's not bothering anybody.'
But people do care and it is bothering them. [When the Wal-Mart at Ferry Farm was first proposed] I had calls from California, people saying: 'You're stewards of the land. How can you do that?' I went to Ireland on a trip, and the story had made it all the way over there.
QWhat about the commission would you change?
AI think you have to be committed to listening to the people in the district. My district is Rock Hill. My clients are 110,000 people. I have to look out for everybody in this county.
I would like meetings to be televised. There are people who have small children and can't come at night.
I really would like to see more people be more involved in the community.
I would like to see each of the supervisors have an open house for constituents every couple of months with appointees from parks and rec and those places.
QWhat are the new development trends in the county?
AYou're seeing more of the village concept, where they're trying to keep everything inside the community boundaries. They'll have offices there, so people can live and work there. There will be parks, walking trails, a cleaners, pizza places.
QWhat do you think will be the hot issues in the near future?
AIn the near future people are becoming more concerned with water. Our water quality has been degraded, fish are dying. Green space--that's a big concern too.
QThere was an election recently. How does the Planning Commission keep politics out of the issues?
AIt's nonpartisan. But sometimes politics does get into it. I don't think there's a Democratic or Republican way to build a school. What we're looking at is what's in the best interest of the county.
QWhat's in store for Crow's Nest?
AIt's a complicated affair. Personally I would love to see it saved in its entirety, simply because the whole peninsula has historic and prehistoric sites. Then there's the ecological part. You have some very rare species, and some of the last virgin timber. Do you want to just put some houses on it? Are you going to pave over everything in the county? The county could use it for an environmental teaching area. It also could be used for limited hunting. There are all kinds of things that can be done with the property that doesn't include new houses.
To reach JODI BIZAR: 374-5000, ext. 5627 jbizar@freelancestar.com