Ever hear a discussion about some part of the Constitution, specifically the Bill of Rights, or another document where the presence of the author could have cleared up any differences of opinion or disagreement?
When the author is not present to explain exactly what was meant by his/her written words, the person interpreting it is required to make assumptions and/or do research to try and find the true meaning.
This is why there are so many different interpretations of documents and why some of those have generated arguments that have lasted for decades and more.
The Comprehensive Plan establishes the 'legislative intent' of a jurisdiction attitudes and policies towards land use, private and public development (including large "public works" projects), growth, and other quality of life issues. It is written documentation of the thoughts, ideas, and policies that form the legislative basis for local ordinances. Without a Comprehensive Plan, or where a Comprehensive Plan is not followed, zoning decisions are likely to be found arbitrary and capricious and not hold up in a court of law.
It serves to remove issues of multiple interpretations by articulating the specific policies of the elected body, whether a Town Council or a County Board of Supervisors. Ordinances, including those addressing zoning, subdivisions, and other land use issues, are one of the primary tools for implementing a jurisdiction's comprehensive plan by providing legal teeth for the policies.
The Comprehensive Plan is designed to include input from citizens as to how they want their community to grow, how they want their area to look in the future. By being an active participant in any community meetings and expressing your ideas, YOU begin to shape the future 'look and feel' of your town.
Unfortunately, most of the input from citizens in the Christiansburg Comprehensive Plan was derived from a citizen satisfaction survey dated 1998. That survey only asks questions about the way things were on the day it was filled out. There were no questions in that survey that asked citizens what they wanted Christiansburg to look like 10, 20, or 30 years from that date.
Sure, at that time, the amount of growth may have seemed acceptable. People were not asked if they wanted that rate of growth to continue. People were not asked where they wanted growth to occur or, what type of growth they wanted. What was not expected was the near cancerous type growth that took hold and took over.
In the Town Council Meeting Minutes, it was pointed out that although they held 2 meetings for the public, few people attended, so, therefore, the people must like things the way they were. That might have been true had the growth and development STOPPED in that time frame. But, it did not. It is more likely that people did not understand the process or the importance of their particpation. Or, perhaps it was that the 2 meetings were held at times when many people, who might have been interested, could not attend.
Growth will occur. What government should do, with the guidance of citizens, is to choose how that growth occurs. If things keep going the way they are, all of the greenspace will be gone. Traffic congestion will continue to worsen. The huge influx of affordable housing will result in impacts on and increased costs of infrastructure exceeding the property values/fees and therefore the income of the town. Such rapid, unplanned growth can mean sewage/water/drain systems that were fine in the recent past suddenly need to be upgraded, roads and intersections that provided an acceptable level of service in the past, now seem overloaded and need improvement, and schools which had adequate capacity are now overcrowded, requiring additional classrooms....more burdens on the local coffers and on the local taxpayers.
Citizen participation will not be accomplished by simply posting a few signs about meetings, sending out forms with water bills, or running a newspaper ad. There are plenty of ways to elicit information from people, but it requires effort. It means getting forms out to churches, civic groups, any organizations you can. Getting some of those groups to set up meetings where representatives of the Town can talk to them and answer questions.
I have almost completed an analysis of the citizen satisfaction survey data and will post it when complete. Unfortunately, as I noted above, it is simply a tool that tells how people felt about their town in 1998. I cannot help but wonder how people would respond today to that same survey. Now there is an idea. I can set up that survey on the internet for people to fill in. Maybe I will even get a bunch of copies printed and hand them out. By gosh, I think I will do just that. I think I will add a few questions to it that ask about what citizens want the future of Christiansburg to be like.
It may take me a while as my health is worsening, but I will do it and the results will be published right here. I will be looking for a few volunteers to help with distribution and collection of the forms. If you are with an organization (however big or small) and are willing to take some of the forms to a meeting to get people to fill out, let me know. I will appreciate any help I can get in making this happen.