Virginia moves to Curtail Sprawl

[monsoon]

This is really good news to see a State Governer taking a proactive approach to restricting sprawl, and the ever increasing development that puts more vehicles on the road. He will propose to the state General Assembly to give more control to localities to stop development where the roads and infrastructure are not adequate to handle it. Builders and Developers are howling about it. I think it is great as some states don't even seem to want to admit the problem exists. Read more in this article:

Kaine Pursues Sprawl, Traffic

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[vdogg]

This is really good news to see a State Governer taking a proactive approach to restricting sprawl, and the ever increasing development that puts more vehicles on the road. He will propose to the state General Assembly to give more control to localities to stop development where the roads and infrastructure are not adequate to handle it. Builders and Developers are howling about it. I think it is great as some states don't even seem to want to admit the problem exists. Read more in this article:

Kaine Pursues Sprawl, Traffic

bugmenot.com can help you access this page if needed

It is great but part of me is skeptical that we'll see any real progress out of this. Sounds good on paper, i guess we'll have to just wait and see.

[Stunad]

Having lived in Northern VA for a few years and the rest in VB I can say that the traffic is bad and sprawl can overwelm a highway system. But one must look beyond these obvious conclussions; what causes sprawl? It is a product of a strong economy and vigorous employment sector. Politicians can't get rid of sprawl unless they want to hurt the local economy. It's basic supply and demand, people want to be in that market and home builders will provide the supply. On further review, property rights will trump the locality's wishes for the property's usage. And that opens another can of worms, if people can't maximize the value of their property, will the state/locality pay they for the loss of return to their investment? It's a messy subject and I don't think that the legislature will ever be able to come to terms over this matter. However, I think that they should be discussing it.

[StevenRocks]

Gov. Kaine is going to get fought tooth and nail on this by the development community, which has a pretty sizable lobby in Richmond. It's going to be an uphill climb to stop sprawl, but standing behind the local governments more is a good step in that direction.

[wrldcoupe4]

What about tax breaks for those that live near transportation hubs or closer to urban centers?

[peaceloveunderstanding]

so is this going to affect development around DC? Will this accelerate the sprawl more towards the north than the south?

[wrldcoupe4]

do you mean accelerate sprawl in Maryland?

[vdogg]

so is this going to affect development around DC? Will this accelerate the sprawl more towards the north than the south?

If the local governments take a proactive role and actually institute some policies with that new power than yes, this will likely force developers to the north.

[StevenRocks]

Maryland's spawl laws are pretty stringent already, especailly in metro DC.

[rusthebuss]

I think this might hurt us with our growing metro. You have to spread before you go up. To me this sounds like an excuse not to get the job done or they really don't know what to do to attack the transportation issues.

[vdogg]

I think this might hurt us with our growing metro. You have to spread before you go up.

I think this might hurt us with our growing metro. You have to spread before you go up.

I'm seeing double.

[wrldcoupe4]

I think this might hurt us with our growing metro. You have to spread before you go up. To me this sounds like an excuse not to get the job done or they really don't know what to do to attack the transportation issues.

You don't have to spread first. Why use up all the available land in a region spreading it wider and wider, when smarter growth principals could be put in place?

Sprawl IS one of the problems causing our statewide transportation woes. Promoting denser development around urban centers will lead to more and better public transit, more walkability, and less transportation problems. It won't cure everything, but it will help.

This doesn't sound like an excuse. It sounds like it's the first time someone actually has the balls to address this issue. Hopefully we'll see action and progress.

Out of curiousity, what would you do Rus to improve transportation statewide besides the typical "the state steals our taxes and gives all of it to Richmond." What types of real solutions would you suggest?

[odumonarch]

Major interstate highways in Virginia is one of the main reasons why sprawl has spread far out to Loudoun County, and to other counties south of DC and north of Richmond. Civil War battlefields are getting threatened with development, especially those in Manassas (Bull Run) and Chancellorsville.

One rule of thumb is that if you construct highways, then you can expect traffic to increase, and more people are more willing to move to far away places where they can use the highways more efficiently rather than drive through city traffic. This holds true for many new cities in the Southwest. Gridlock is spreading rapidly in Las Vegas, Phoenix, Tucson, LA, SF, and other cities. Santa Monica Highway is gridlocked due to all the sprawl. People that construct new homes farther out in the highways are more likely to lead others to move there as well, and when you get the concept of the "domino effect" that goes with the highways, moving people out of congested areas to more greener areas, and people are more likely to move farther out from the city. Take New York. Some of their workers live in Pennsylvania, just across the NJ border. The concept of highways have been driven by the automobile, unfortunately. A lot of people want to live as close to the highways as possible to facilitate driving, but that has made sprawl grow worse. Get this concept:

Automobile -> Highways to accommodate cars -> New cities constructed far out of the central city -> Sprawl spreads.

I think Kaine came up with the plan at the right time. Now he has 4 years to get suburban sprawl under control. He can take Clarke County as his prime example. That county, just west of Loudoun, only allows growth to occur on existing roads and structures. People there have a higher income than the sprawling counties near Washington. Unless Kaine makes a move, people are going to regret the Civil War battlefields being overrun with development.

[Cadeho]

Someone please remind me about the name of a practice to limit sprawl where a boundary can be set.

[vdogg]

Someone please remind me about the name of a practice to limit sprawl where a boundary can be set.

smartgrowth?

or setting a greenline perhaps, like we have in Va. Beach.

[Cadeho]

Could have been a greenline. Thanks! need one in Richmond on all sides.

[wrldcoupe4]

Keep all growth within Richmond Chesterfield, Henrico and Hanover. There's your green line... (maybe put the Matoaca district of C-field outside the green line, maybe parts of Hanover too).

and my question still goes unanswered.

[Cadeho]

Nothing past West Creek and Mechanicsville. In the west end, Hanover's boundary should be the line. Far eastern Henrico should remain rural and forests. Chesterfield is a lost cause. But eventually they'll run out of land and their boundaries should be the line with the exception to the land west of 288 as it enters Powhatan. Maybe a half mile west of 288 a line can be drawn. Learn how to reuse the land we already have.

[wrldcoupe4]

Re-use is the KEY!

[eandslee]

Speaking of growth, I found the following web site very informative. It looks like Richmond is doing pretty well with growth (not as in sprawl, but overall population growth). In fact, according to this site, Richmond is growing at a faster rate than the HR area (that really surprised me). Of course, Northern Virginia is growing...well, too fast! Take a look everybody - it's really interesting...

Virginia population growth site

It also appears that the corridor between Richmond and Washington DC is growing the most in the state.

[JWCJ]

Ya know, the swrawl is getting worst here in Richmond and Henrico now.

[rusthebuss]

Ya know, the swrawl is getting worst here in Richmond and Henrico now.

[JWCJ]

Rus, it is getting alot worst. It's almost like the HR sometimes. And that's some.

[TBurban]

Rus, it is getting alot worst. It's almost like the HR sometimes. And that's some.

Whats wrong with Hampton Roads? Whats wrong with sprawl for that matter?

[wrldcoupe4]

There are certainly negative impacts of sprawl...I actually did a research paper on it last year and if I didn't have another paper due in an hour I'd elaborate.

Still I don't think sprawl in Richmond is as bad as other areas, nor do I think it's extremely bad in HR... There is limited land available in HR given the geography of the region, so smart regional growth planning should be a priority. That said, smarter growth should be a priority in every region.