S1E10 - Community Voices Audio Project #1: How can we accommodate growth in our community?

Welcome to let's talk albumirl. I'm your host, Serena Gruia. I'm the public engagement coordinator with Album Roll County in beautiful central Virginia. If you're a subscriber to this podcast, you'll know that episodes are generally conversation based and guests are invited to discuss a project they're working on. Episode will be a little bit different. I'm calling it the Community Voices audio project. The idea came to me as I was reflecting on the variety of perspectives and opinions people were sharing about community growth and the future of Albmerl County. The intention of this project is to create a platform for community members to share their experiences and knowledge so that together we may build a deeper understanding of complex topics. This episode will focus on growth in Albumrol County. The Weldon Cooper Center demographics research group predicts that Albumrol County's population will grow by 300 residents in the next 20 years. A growing community faces many challenges and opportunities that have wide ranging implications for the future. This is particularly important to think about right now as we work to update our comprehensive plan. So here's how it's organized. I asked my team to nominate people whose work focuses on quality of life, resilience, development, infrastructure, or land use. I asked each participant to record a three to five minute response to these questions how can we accommodate growth in our community? What should we consider as we plan to accommodate growth? And what challenges or opportunities do you anticipate? This episode is a collection of those responses. I hope that listening to this show will add new and valuable context for you as you participate in a comprehensive plan update project. First up, we have Marta.

I do think it's important that we accommodate growth in our county and that we go about it in a reasonable fashion so that we balance the need for nature with the need for people wanting to move to this area. It is important that people be within an area that they can access services and access transportation, and that makes Albamarrow County a very desirable place. I think that zoning and general ideas about plans for growth areas are important and to be clear, so that as people move into areas, they know what that means. I think the challenge right now is that most people that are settled don't want to see their area change. But yet it's going to be important for us to meet the needs of seniors and others of low income. Affordable housing is a challenge in Elmerl County, and I think we're going to have to look at new and different ways, like accessory dwelling units, to allow us to meet that challenge and meet the needs of future citizens. Thank you.

Next, we have Willie May, lead community health worker for the Blue Ridge Health District who covers Album County.

So one of the ways I think of accommodating growth in our community is just making sure that any new traffic patterns are safe and equipped and handling new growth within the county and just trying to make it less stressful for folks who already live here in the county as well. I think Alphamar County should really consider as a plan for new growth to the county just ensuring and making the necessary and needed adjustments and hiring an adequate amount of staff that will support the county's new growth for the services that they are providing to its residents living here within the community. When I think of some of the challenges that could be anticipated would be schools being overcrowded again, increased traffic issues and possible longer turnaround times for residents who are seeking the necessary services for their families and loved ones. One of the opportunities I think could be for the small business owner, definitely financially, with an increase in revenue to their business due to more folks moving into the area.

Now you'll hear from Tom, a resident of Southern Albumaro.

I believe the county's growth management policy needs a stem to stern overhaul to deal with climate change and other ecological crises. Let me explain. In 2014, then President Barack Obama stated we are the first generation to feel the effect of climate change and the last generation who can do something about it. In 2018, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, alarmed the world when it declared that to escape rapidly worsening, potentially runaway climate change, humanity must reduce new greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030 and become carbon neutral by 2050. We also must draw down greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere and rapidly green human societies. Despite these dire warnings, humanity's greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise. As Washington Post columnist Eugene Robinson recently put it, we seem headed for barely mitigated doom. What gives? We've been insulating our homes, driving more fuel efficient vehicles, et cetera. The problem, as the IPCC noted back in 2014, is that most greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel combustion were driven by population and economic growth. And politicians and business leaders tend to think growth is good even when it isn't. These points bring us to the county growth policy, which calls for creating new growth areas when existing growth areas show signs of filling up, perhaps until the county is fully built out, accommodating growth, planning for growth. Unless this county growth policy enables the ongoing loss of ecosystems and their ability to sequester carbon, it enables the new greenhouse gas emissions from new developments. It is directly at odds with becoming carbon neutral and becoming climate resilient. Let's face it we need a reimagined growth management policy, one that requires limits to our growth so that we can coexist with vital natural systems and succeed at containing climate change. Expanding this line of thought, humanity needs to limit its demands on the Earth so that we can live sustainably with each generation living as much as possible on renewable resources, while leaving sufficient resources for future generations to live good lives. We owe this to our descendants, and for that matter, to other living things. Hey, while we're at it, let's include a vision statement in the updated Comprehensive Plan. A vision statement that commits the county to the pursuit of ecological sustainability. Now we're getting somewhere. I'm tom olivier. Those are my thoughts on growth management and sustainability, and I appreciate your hearing me out.

Next up, we have Neil, the president of the Free Enterprise Forum.

Almarrow county is embarking on a planning exercise that will shape the future. The preliminary AC 44 work has identified the need for more creative approaches to accommodate growth. It is very difficult to have affordable housing without housing. This lack of residential lots can be tied to boards of supervisors who fail to accept increased density where it was called for in the Comprehensive Plan, and the inability of landowners to build out to maximum density due to conflicting regulatory restrictions. Albumara must recognize the need for regulatory reform and to create descriptive rather than prescriptive comprehensive planning designations to accommodate increased residential growth, decrease housing cost, decrease climate impacts, and increased demographic diversity, Almara should double its development area over the next 20 years. In addition, Albumoro should think big and have four comprehensive plan designations urban, Suburban, Transition, and Rural. Each of these could allow different approaches to increase density and diversity. Urban could allow, not require, buildings of up to twelve stories. Suburban could allow, not require, duplexes, triplexes and quads by right. Transition would not require municipal sewer and water, but would be allowed to develop by right on one and two acre parcels. Rural areas would be allowed, but not be required to build and convert farm dependencies into rental residential units, including short term rental. Each of these elements allows increased density by right and increases housing stock. The goal of locating residents where services can be delivered efficiently is economically sound but equity challenged. In previous comprehensive planning exercises and I've been through many, Alamar promised to make the development areas so desirable via amenities and local government investment that it would be more attractive than the rural areas to new residents. Albumar failed to deliver on this promise, and instead of funding more nice things in the development areas, they prohibited so called commercial enterprises from operating in the rural areas. This results in the rural area resident needing to drive 35 plus miles for a grocery store or an oil change. Contrary to Albumaro's climate change goals, using the recently discovered equity lens, albumar should consider establishing Achievable performance standards for rural area enterprises to provide services to rural area citizens that are currently being treated as second class citizens. If a convenience station provides food, fuel and jobs to the local community and has little or no environmental impacts, why should it be prohibited? If completed properly, AC 44 will be change, and change is hard. Change requires us to give up that which we know in favor of that which we do not know. Some of the opposition to these ideas may be based in relocating the anticipated growth to socalled other localities. This ostrich philosophy ignores the vast environmental and equity consequences of pushing people out. Too often, the folks pushed out do not look like us. Instead, with good planning, we can welcome new residents that build the fabric of our community. In diversity, albumaro will find strength. Such diversity must not be limited to demographic concerns. We must also encourage a diversity of housing types, a diversity of financing models, rent, land, trust own, a diversity of employment opportunities, a diversity of transportation option, and perhaps most importantly, a diversity of thinking. If we fail to be a welcoming community to all, we all fail as a community. Finally, I must finish where I started. Albumar needs to work together to provide more residential options, more housing everywhere, for everyone. Thank you for the opportunity to speak.

Now let's hear from Muriel.

Hi, I'm Muriel and I'd like to share some thoughts about Alberto County's growth. This growth is basically population and economic growth. Population grows organically and comprehensive. Plans can't control it, but can control the damage it does. The county can safely accommodate population growth only if we all limit individual consumption so that growth doesn't outpace sustainability. If resources are depleted faster than they replenish and air, water and land are polluted, the earth will lose its ability to support us. The other type of growth, economic growth, is not organic. The economy is a system that provides a structure for things related to production, distribution and consumption of goods and services. People create economies and using economic development rules, people can control whether or how they grow. The rules should discourage development that contributes to global warming and encourage development that contributes to resilience. While planning for growth, we should consider the four E's education, economy, environment and equity. But not all in the ways that we usually think of them. Education everyone has to know how the county plans to manage growth and how we all can be involved. We need accurate information about the connections between uncontrolled growth and climate change and about safeguarding our way of life while we mitigate the effects of climate change. This education must get to people where they are. They don't have time or energy to seek it out. Economy the financial costs of growth management matter, but more important are the health, safety and rebuilding costs caused by bad growth management. We should examine our goals for what we expect our economy to do throughout the Comprehensive plan. This may mean valuing air, water, land, food, shelter, safety and opportunity over economics. Environment we depend on the natural environment. In addition to protecting our resources, it is critical that we control and adapt to global warming. Growth plans must reduce greenhouse gas emissions, provide sinks to absorb greenhouse gases, preserve the rural areas, repurpose old buildings and develop environmentally sound resilient strategies. Equity growth planning succeeds only when it gives every resident a safe, healthy, environmentally stable lifestyle with all the opportunities needed to provide for that lifestyle. Are these things possible? Clear, accurate education about managing growth must be ubiquitous and should use gimmicks such as slogans, jingles or pictures to keep growth information on our minds. This is expensive, but if the county, city, university and regional planning district joined together to fund one unified education program, it might be affordable. As an added benefit, this cooperative effort would establish human connections that could lead to more and better cooperation. Of course, the biggest planning hurdle is resistance to change. If what you're doing hurts, stop doing it. Viewing natural areas only as places for development is destructive. Education must show the actual devastation that can be caused if we ignore global warming using existing examples. Education also must show how people benefit from mixed use neighborhoods, smaller, more efficient living spaces, walking instead of driving, and other energy reduction measures. Creating an industry around smaller and simpler lifestyles will have positive outcomes generating new physical environments, jobs and hope.

Next we'll hear from Rob, who is the senior land use field representative covering album Rule County for Piedmont Environmental Council.

I've lived and worked in the Charlesville Almara area for over 30 years. The preserved rural countryside and wilderness areas that I've valued for decades are not by accident. They are by design. Intentional planning to protect these areas, including water resources, has been the driving force behind the protection of rural areas and smart growth in the developed areas. The initiatives to protect the sources of the county's water supply in the 1970s and early 1980s resulted in the establishment of the initial developed areas, defined in part by the water supply watersheds. Almarrow county should approach planning for growth in a way that is responsive to the challenges of today and tomorrow. PEC is very supportive of the county's approach to reviewing and updating the current growth management plan using the lenses of equity, climate change and growth projections to address market forces driving project densities less than those targeted in the comprehensive plan. The county should utilize strategies that offer more flexibility within land use categories to better respond to changing market conditions over time. To accommodate growth, we believe the county should prioritize the following three goals one, continued protection of our natural resources, including reducing development pressures in our rural areas, improving water quality, increasing tree cover in our rural and urban areas and land conservation. Two proactive investment in our infrastructure things like roads, sidewalks, trails, transit, providing safe ways for people to get around and three, increasing housing type, variety and affordability. What we're doing isn't working right now. We need to get more creative. We need mixed use developments and redevelopment projects that result in livable communities, including consideration of incentives and direct investment by the county. We must be intentional and deliberate in how we plan for growth if we intend to create equitable communities with parks, green spaces, great trails and sidewalk systems, and easy access to essential services. Perhaps the most important challenge in accommodating growth in the developed areas is addressing the historical trend that projects approved in the development areas are being developed at 30% to 50% of the density and density recommended in the current comprehensive plan. The county should invest in infrastructure connectivity and green spaces to drive up density to counteract market conditions that may drive down density. However, land development, outpacing infrastructure, transit, walkability and school capacity is problematic to avoid lower density development commitments and investing in and implementing infrastructure projects and increasing school capacity is critical to ensuring smart growth. To address market forces driving project densities less than those targeting the comprehensive plan, the county should utilize strategies that offer more flexibility within land use categories to better respond to changing market conditions over time. The county should address community concerns about high density impacting their neighborhoods by promoting a concept that higher density brings newly added and desired services. Design solutions should be utilized to better transition proposed higher density development projects that are proximate to lower density neighborhoods. We strongly believe that to address the impacts of climate change, the county should accommodate growth by focusing on opportunities within the current developed areas. PEC looks forward to continuing our involvement in the growth management planning process.

Next up, Daniel, the president of 100 black men of Central Virginia.

I think that one of the things that I've enjoyed about living in the county is that especially in the urban ring area of the county is that we have easy access, especially through 250 and kind of like the John Warner Parkway. And I know that that access is limited for people that don't have their own transportation, right? So I know that that is even with the border loaves and fishes. One of the things we've talked to the county about a lot is getting a bus stop either at Abmar High School or somewhere near there, because there are a lot of people that need access to food that can't access it because of the bus line. I think that honestly, there are a lot of different ways in which our communities can work closer together. And one of them, I would say, is really working with Jaunt Cat and the UVA bus system to try to figure out a way to make sustainable transportation throughout our community as a viable option for getting places and a reliable option for getting places. Because if we know that people are going to be coming into the county that are from the city or from other places that are just moving to the county that may be working in the city or working at UVA, having reliable transportation is going to be really effective, especially reliable public transportation that also hopefully can be free. It's a lot of ideas, but I think that if we were to establish a community like that where you know that you could get on the bus at a certain time and get to work at a certain time and maybe even have some backups in case you were running late. I think that would be a really big way to accommodate the growth, because it would not only accommodate people that are living outside that maybe don't have means of transportation, but it also will be able to allow for people that want to commute into work, give them the opportunity to have less cars on the road. One of the ways that we can consider as we plan to grow in Abmarrow County would be multifamily housing. So I used to live right off of North Berkshire, and it was kind of actually a little community in the Meadows. There were multiple duplexes. It was just like a community of duplexes, and they took up the same footprint as a house. And that can be a really cool opportunity to then double the amount of people that can stay inside of a place by creating duplexes, by creating quadplexes, by creating ultimate houses that people can feel comfortable in and have off street parking, but that are also available for renters if they want to, UVA students, et cetera. I will say that there is an opportunity that has not been taken advantage of so far for UVA to require or even offer first and second year housing to then take some of the students out of the Charlottesville market and put them on campus. If we know that there are students that are going to be here, we know that you've Uva's enrollment is going to continue to grow. We know that that will continue to add more people into our community. There needs to be a housing plan for that. And that housing plan can't just be put on the city and the county. I think UVA needs to take responsibility for the students and the people that they're bringing on here and creating more spaces on their campus to accommodate for those people. One of the things that we can be thoughtful of is broadband and idea of virtual work and remote work. That can be a way to reduce emissions on the road. That can be a way to reduce the traffic. Honestly, with COVID-19 being able to teach us a lot of things, but one of them being that a lot of work can be done virtually. And maybe that comes with opportunities from the county office building or from the city to say, hey, we will allow a certain number of virtual days per year or per week. We don't need everyone in the office all the time. And that, again, will reduce the amount of traffic flowing into the city, reduce the amount of emissions, and also then even allow with proper broadband, allow for people to engage, especially for kids that want to be engaged in school, but maybe are dealing with an illness. It's amazing. You can have a list of addresses. All of kids that all go to the same school, and you go and visit their houses. And there are some that are in gated communities, in mansion type of houses. And then there are others that are on a dirt road with no names and no stop signs, just like, oh, you're looking for the Johnsons. They're the third house on the left, and those kids go to the same school, right? And it's just wild to know the disparities and the ways that our kids, the needs that can be disparate among them. So I would love for more opportunities for people to connect, and obviously, that's what the Internet is for. So giving reliable Internet is going to be a big part of that in a way that it will affect, again, greenhouse gas emissions, people working and being connected, even the opportunities for work, because I wouldn't need to. If I know that I can work for UVA, if I can work for the county and not have to go in every single day, I can figure out transportation. My whole family can have one car, and I say, hey, I need a car on Tuesdays or Thursdays. And then that can just be a part of the plan. But that allows for the flexibility that can accommodate the growth in our community.

Next up, we have Martha speaking.

Within the present global context, our food chain is in jeopardy as more and more species are becoming endangered or extinct, thus reducing food sources. And while many plant and animal species are declining, ours is exploding exponentially. Therefore, it is imperative that while we remove yet more trees, we do so very minimally and provide generous habitat compensation. First, the county can help residents help nature by increasing wildlife food sources. Encourage homeowners to reduce lawn area and replace it with ecosystems rich in bug food, such as a meadow, savannah, rain, gardens, yards should be at least 70%. Native plants, especially trees such as oaks and red buds that host insects, caterpillars, and other bird food. Help homeowners know what they have by providing field agents who can identify native and nonnative plants. Partner with master gardeners and other environmental organizations. Broadcast visuals to show homeowners what successful ecosystem installations look like. Provide lists of native plant nurseries, and give all nurseries incentives to stock native plants. The most reliable natives are straight, genus and species without further cultivation for particular straight traits. Educate residents about the importance of a strong relationship with nature. If people don't understand species interdependencies, they won't understand the value and importance of changing their behaviors. These programs can reach the several audiences, most especially children, through hands on nature science field trips, a nature hometech class about learning to live with bugs and bees, et cetera. Identification of all plants, including grasses, on school grounds. Presentation subjects matter galore. Second, the county can support the social fabric of residents by fostering community collectively and mitigating loneliness and isolation individually through changes in residential and commercial developments. For instance, cluster housing type blend ages to encourage advantages of intergenerational living. Create town centers that give identity and can offer main street celebrations, green areas for morning exercise classes, playgrounds include gathering centers and kiosks that advertise and offer local programs, events and activities for all. Encourage mixed use developments that include daycare and other needed neighborhood services. Emphasize walking, biking and other attractive pathways separate from roads. Encourage mass transportation and create a carpool hot link for each community to minimize car trips. Create communal garden plots with water supply and torridge tool storage sheds. Require residential and commercial businesses to compost all organic matter and partner with Black Bear composting for this service. Presently, our landfill is approximately 30% organic waste. At the administrative level of permitting development site plans, the county should require removal of turf from all publicly maintained spaces, median strips, et cetera, and convert that land to the appropriate native ecosystem. Strengthen environmental regulations to include the assessment of watershed health as determined by robust indicator species populations. Identify and preserve old mature trees. It is now known that trees are linked to each other through micro rise fungi. Thus, when one is removed, the remaining trees are harmed. There is so much to learn and love about our fellow species, and now it is an imperative for our survival. Thank you.

And now we hear from Kaitano, the director of climate policy with a community climate collaborative.

I work closely with local decision makers to advance sustainable policies that help our community live in a more sustainable way while accommodating for the impending growth that it will face in coming years. As Abnormal County 2044, also known as AC 44, plans to accommodate growth in the county between 2024 and 2044. I think it should consider first and foremost that the new growth should be sustainable, accessible and just, preparing the county to meet both its climate goals and become an ever more livable and accessible community. However, when doing that, the county needs to pay attention to the following trends as housing prices grow, they increasingly push households to suburban areas. Evidence of that is that our Mall County's population grew up 40% faster than Shallots population over the past ten years. Another important trend is that over the next 20 years, our most population growth will add to the county some 12,500 new homes. To put in perspective, that means adding to the county the equivalent of more than half of Charlotte's Ville current population. In my opinion, that growth needs to be read as a given fact. From a problem solver perspective, it's an exogenous variable that is a result of growing state and national population amid something the county has no legal or moral authority to influence. As such, the county has no better option than to plan to accommodate that inevitable growth the best possible way. In addition, from a sustainability perspective, it's certainly better to have that growing population being accommodated in responsible counties that promote both social and environmental good when it comes to how I believe that army could accommodate that growth. Fortunately, there is a way to accommodate population growth that also minimizes transportation pollution, commuting times and households few expenses while maximizing the county's preservation of total forestile and canopy coverage area. Not only that, such strategy achieves that while also increasing local levability, promoting a healthier way of life, and reducing residential energy expenses. That marvelous solution is no other than planning and implementing climate smart zoning strategies in our most designated development areas. These strategies seek to increase homes location efficiency, promote a transit oriented development, increase access to health and affordable food, and allow community members to live in a 15 minutes community where households can address most of their regular needs within a 15 minutes walk distance from their home. Increasing population density in a smart way is also good from a tax or cost perspective, as it would help the government and service providers to invest in infrastructure projects in a more affordable way. Now, when it comes to the challenges and opportunities that I anticipate, our malcon is home to the great natural and historical resources and is also home to an increasingly diverse community. By creating active opportunities, access and taking care of its resources, the county can be an example of a sustainable community that is ready to lead the way to other midsized counties into a functional 21st century model that works for all. However, the same ingredients that, if well managed, can be part of a recipe for success could also, if mismanaged, make the county a less attractive place to live. Natural resources require great attention to be preserved or even improved. When a community loses its natural resources, it faces a type of stress and trauma that's different from a community that never had them to begin with. Also, when it comes to being a community that's increasingly more diverse with immigrants from a variety of cultures, the social tissue needs to be welcoming and malleable enough to allow a healthy inclusion of new commutes and demographics that prevent the emergency of social and cultural clashes. Diverse community engagement and input from our demographics, particularly from the growing global majority, needs to be carefully integrated into planning processes to make them truly successful. Thanks so much for the opportunity to sharing my voice and be an active.

Part of the AC 44 and finally here's Hunter.

I believe the best way to accommodate growth in our community would be to expand the growth area. Our growth area currently in Almiral County is 5%, which is approximately 23,000 acres. I would estimate that probably half of that land still is not developable because of critical slopes or other issues that don't allow it to be developed. I don't believe that people in the community understand that 5% is a very restrictive amount of land and. All that does is create an increase in cost by forcing projects on the property that are very difficult to develop. With an increase in your development costs, it's all passed down to the consumer. The consumer is the one that ends up paying the price for all these regulations. If you increase the supply of property to develop, your costs should come down, which if your costs can come down, then we can supply some more affordable housing in the community for our firefighters, our police, our teachers, the service industry and help them live in the community that they serve. Also, by expanding the growth area, it would not force some commercial, industrial or residential developments on land that is costly to develop, ie. The infill stuff that's currently going on. Things that we should consider to accommodate growth in Almara County we should try to streamline the development process through the county I e. Less red tape, lessen the regulations that currently only produce about 50% of the total build out numbers on a development. Try to get affordability so elderly, first time home buyers, teachers and people that serve the community can live in the community. Look at the proximity to current utilities, which will help decrease cost in development. Also, by decreasing regulations, you may stop some of the people who shy away from the difficultness or the red tape of Almarol County's regulatory process to do a buy right subdivision, which then increases sprawl, which is exactly what the county is trying to avoid. The challenges that I see is that we need to create a more diverse atmosphere of elected and appointed officials. When one ideology prevails, it's style's, creativity and opportunities. Doing some of these things that I've suggested I think will help bring good jobs and business to our wonderful community that I've lived in my whole life.

And that wraps up our first edition of the Community Voices audio project. First, thanks to Martha, Willie, May, Tom, Neil, Muriel, Rob, Daniel, Martha, Kaitano and Hunter for your time, your contribution and your trust in me as we navigate this new idea. And thank you for listening. As always, I would love to hear from you. Call or email me to share your constructive feedback, suggest a topic or ask a question you have about Almarrow County Local Government 434-296-5841, extension 3274 or [email protected].

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