One Pill Makes You Larger
According to the local paper (as reported by the local newspaperman, Doug Thompson, Special to the Press) the most recent Floyd Board of Supervisors meeting revealed that already this year, 144 subdivision parcels have been granted. This compares to 159 for all of last year. This rate of growth, while alarming, has gained the attention and concern of the Board. Asking what can be done to slow this process down, the only response was that at present, there was no legal way to refuse the applications. What that suggests is that the current legal framework for county developement must be amended to allow for controlled and proactive growth.
Fortunately, we have not reached the point of no return. We can still take a nibble from the other pill, if you will. But county officials are going to have to chose the lesser of two evils, and soon. It is much easier to control development before it happens than to realize too late that we don't have the water, sewer, roads or other infrastructure to handle it--much less, to suffer the aesthetic consequences of unplanned growth.