Misguided Anti Growth Policies
Ok, the title of this rant may kinda tweak some people, in that some feel that anti growth is always a good thing, but my argument is that there are ways to accomplish the goals you seek, and ways that do nothing but throw roadblocks in front of people for no good reason. Take, for example, my town of Great Falls.
Great Falls is an eclectic community, tucked out in the woods approximately 15 miles from Georgetown. My home is close to the Great Falls National Park, an unspoiled (mostly) gem on the banks of the Potomac, heavily wooded, and full of trails, animals, plant life, etc. Many of those who live here, live in Great Falls because of the rural quality of the area, added to a relative ease in commuting (for whatever can be easy commuting in this ridiculously overcrowded and traffic filled nightmare of an area). Most of the lots here are large, over 2 acres at least, housing horses, gardens, trees, etc.
There are many of us here in Great Falls who do not wish to see developers come in here and carve up 5 acre lots into 4 homes per acre parcels of McMansions. To me, there is a simple way to do this - convince the County of Farifax who controls the zoning of this little piece of paradise, to just say NO to lot sizes smaller than say, 1 to 2 acres. But that's not what they're doing.... Instead, they've decided to prohibit public water and sewer hook ups in most areas of the town except for highly critical areas like the elementary schools, fire station, etc.
So, thinking on a highly personal level, how does this affect me? Glad you asked. Today we once again replaced a well pump. Seems that my water is so corrosive that it ate through the casing of a well pump that was supposed to last at least 20 years in 3. This means that the boys from Bell Pump and Well drive out here, haul a pump up 200 feet from the water source, and put in a new one. This means that the resulting sludge and crud that wind up in our household water system has to be flushed out after 24 hours of no water. Ok, that just sucks. Good thing we don't DRINK that stuff.
Fairfax County, you listening? Change the zoning out here and run the water pipes. I'm tired of paying huge amounts of money for water softeners, filters, pumps, backwashers, etc. etc. worrying about the effect of this water on my indoor pipes, AND the septic system. Perhaps it's time for Great Falls to enter the 21st century. *ARGH*