Over the next few months, I plan to regularly provide additional details about some of the priorities that I will pursue if elected.
Management Plan for Growth and Approved Development
One of the top concerns that I’ve heard in the community centers on growth and inadequate planning for approved development projects. The simple answer is not just to deny every development project that comes before the Board of Supervisors. This would not address the more than 12,000 homes that have already been approved by previous Boards, but have not yet been built. Current growth rates have remained at or below 2% for several years (which was determined to be a rate that can be reasonably absorbed). However, there are no timeline restrictions on the 12,000+ homes that have already been approved - meaning they can be developed as fast as they can be built and sold. For comparison of individual projects that have been approved, I’ve included a February 2017 and January 2021 snapshot for comparison. Keep in mind - 0 of the 2,607 homes in the Alexander Crossing project (along Route 1) have been built.
The Board must act with greater urgency to develop a plan to project out when these houses would be built and what services will need to be added (new school, fire station, courthouse expansion, etc.). Some may point to the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP), but this plan only looks out 5 years and is used more to ensure funding exists for the projects, rather than as a planning document. A long-term guide is needed to ensure that we are better positioned for future growth.
One thing that should concern each citizen is that County Finance staff has publicly stated recently that the County lacks borrowing flexibility for any major project outside the current CIP. The example that was used was if a new school needed to be built in a few years, the County could only fund it with steep tax increases or to abandon their fiscal policies. These actions would cause unacceptable harm to citizens and negatively impact our excellent Bond ratings - costing us more money in the long run.
Such a planning document would not require that we fund projects just because they were planned for that year. However, it would allow officials, staff, and citizens greater understanding of upcoming plans and reduce the likelihood that the County is caught off guard in the future.
Such a planning document should be non-binding but based on different sources of data from all County Departments and be updated on an annual basis as growth projections and County needs change.
For an additional idea read my September 5, 2017 post - My Proposal To Better Advance Responsible Growth