The following letter has been submitted to area newspapers:

To the Editor:

Let's get better zoning. Jefferson County is now zoned for over 1,500,000
housing units. I think we all agree that's too much. No one's life or
land would be worth anything if we built that much housing, so let's
change the zoning to a realistic level. The county only has about 17,000
housing units now.

Can we agree to allow 5,000 more housing units? 10,000 more? 50,000 more?
Let's pick a broad range we can live with and use zoning to decide where
the best places are for this housing. We can make a Plan.

One possibility is:

(A) Allow up to 1 housing unit per 10 acres on all farmland and other
undeveloped land.

(B) Limited subdividing even on 10-20 acre farms, such as parent-to-child
transfers.

(C) Up to 4 housing units per acre in a small growth zone of 100 acres in
and around towns.

Housing units can be grouped at one end of a farm, on small lots, so most
land stays open. Or the building rights can be sold, keeping all the land
in farming.

The point of this mix is that FARMERS would have most of the rights to
subdivide, so FARMERS would get the land profits from growth. Zoning now
creates a glut of housing everywhere, so the first few developers get
most profits from building, and farmers are left to take the hindmost.

Total growth would be about 12,000 housing units. In the last 10 years
the county issued building permits for 4,000 units, so this plan would
last us 30 years even at the existing rate of building. Since 1,500,000
housing units are not realistic, people who oppose a 12,000-unit proposal
need to say what they do support.

Current zoning allows 22 housing units per acre in "growth" and "mixed
use" zones. "Rural" zones also allow this density, gradually, as
buildings spread from existing towns and utilities. So all 73,000 acres
of farms (and other open space) are zoned to allow 22 housing units per
acre. Multiplying at least 73,000 acres times 22 units per acre gives the
total of over 1,500,000 housing units under current zoning. We can
legally reduce the allowed density, since owners would still have
realistic uses of their land, in fact more realistic than now. The
current zoning laws, plan and map are at http://listener.homestead.com.

The 12,000 new housing units need to pay their way when they are built.
They need to pay the building costs of their new schools, emergency
services, parks, libraries, etc. Then their annual taxes will pay for
operating costs, just as we all do. Our Planning Commission already has
authority to "specify ... Provision for schools ... Provision for
essential municipal services" (WV 8-24-30). We can use this state law
now, while working on more improvements in the future.

This is a simple plan we can work with. The key is zoning for 12,000
housing units, not 1,500,000, and spreading these rights to subdivide
fairly among farmers.

Sincerely,
Paul Burke,
Citizens for Jefferson's Future