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Is agricultural zoning in Stafford having the desired effect? Date published: 7/25/2010
BY JONAS BEALS Stafford County supervisors are scheduled to adopt a new comprehensive plan in September. If approved, it would be the first major revision of the county's master development document in more than 20 years. The proposed plan focuses on the center of the county along Interstate 95--where supervisors hope to locate a majority of the commercial, industrial and residential growth in the next 20 years. But what happens outside that corridor may have a greater impact on Stafford's future. That is where suburban sprawl could occur--the type of growth that has a reputation for chewing up natural resources and putting a financial burden on existing taxpayers. Half of Stafford County is zoned for agriculture, or A-1. That land can be, or has been, subdivided by right into 3-acre residential lots. That is the smallest minimum lot size for rural zoning of any county between Washington and Richmond. The Stafford zoning ordinance says: "The purpose of the A-1 district is to reserve areas for traditional agricultural activities and to provide for their continuation as well as preservation of areas of rural character." Jesse Richardson, an associate professor of urban affairs and planning at Virginia Tech, does not believe agricultural zoning achieves what most localities intend. Instead of preserving rural land, he said, it can encourage the sprawl that many localities try to avoid. "Agricultural zoning has never worked," he said. "I don't think it will ever work. A lot of localities probably know that it doesn't work. "A community needs to get together and decide two things," he said. "Is there enough agricultural property to preserve, and is that really what you want? Some communities don't want farmland, and they don't want real agriculture." Instead of preserving farmland, agricultural zoning may only be preserving development value for owners of large tracts of land. DOES LOT SIZE MATTER? In most areas of Stafford, A-1 property has its highest value when developed for residential use. "Agricultural zoning in and of itself is pretty worthless as far as preserving agriculture," Richardson said. "It often generates sprawl. It's mostly turned into residential or country estates. To call it agricultural zoning is disingenuous. Large lots is the definition of sprawl."
Read more stories about Stafford Date published: 7/25/2010
Jonas - You nailed this article. Superb job! Stafford citizens, if you care about the future of your community attend the special meeting on Wed. Let your supervisor know you would like the BOS to conduct a public hearing before adoption.
There is a Special Meeting of the Stafford BOS on Wed July 28, 2010 at 6:30 p.m. in the A/B/C Conference Room on the new Comprehensive Plan. It is likely one of the most important meetings for Stafford Citizens in over 20 years. Now will the BOS hold a public hearing before adoption????
This beats all the local news articles that I have read from the Free Lance Star in a while! Nice job, liked the information.
going to solve the transportation problems if I-95 and the major
primaries that connect to it are already maxed.
What part of 610 do we think can take on more traffic to linear I-95
corridor subdivisions?
if you outlawed dense subdivisions and allowed by-right "sprawl"
development, it would take decades to affect the roads and schools
compared to more dense UDA development.
Why do we keep citing "sprawl" as the problem we are trying to solve
with more dense development when the density is 10x as much?
used for agriculture purposes is a sham. It's vacant land
without water&sewer and transportation infrastructure
waiting to be developed.
Developers don't care who pays for the roads and schools as
long as it does not affect their ability to make a profit
selling houses.
Large Lot "sprawl" is not what eats up transportation
capacity and schools.
It's intensive small-lot subdivisions with 100, 200, 300 or
more homes in them.
All of rural Stafford may not have more than 1//20th of the
housing stock.
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