Tuesday, March 28, 2000
Boone land use plan rejects service boundary
Growth inevitable, commissioners say
BY KRISTINA GOETZ
The Cincinnati Enquirer
BURLINGTON — For now, the idea of drawing a line to manage growth in Boone County is dead.
Fiscal court voted 3-1 to adopt updated goals and objectives for the county's comprehensive plan — a document that guides land use — using weaker wording than what planning staff suggested.
The provision to study an urban service boundary was left out.
The dissenting vote came from Commissioner Robert Hay. He said several commissioners had campaigned on the issue of balancing growth in the county and the docu ment they passed did not accomplish that.
“I have serious concerns that the things I said as a candidate are not being met in this document,” he said, adding that parts of the goals and objectives have been watered down since they were voted on by the fiscal court in 1995.
An urban service boundary, a point of contention for property rights and preservation groups, would have essentially kept growth in one area of the county.
Public services such as water and sewer would have been concentrated, and those residents outside the growth area would have had to pay for their own until officials decided it was time to move the line.
The provision in the goals and objectives was to study ways to create a transition between urban and rural areas. It was not to implement the growth management tool.
But Commissioner Cathy Flaig said it would be difficult to stop growth in an area that has an international airport. She said citizens across Boone County deserve to have public services and good roads.
“All we can do is give this rocket ship direction,” she said.
County Judge-executive Gary Moore agreed.
“If you drew the boundary today, we're going to continue to grow,” he said.
This was the last vote Commissioner Rob Arnold took as a member of the fiscal court. When his resignation takes effect March 31, Lance Lucas, who was recently appointed by Gov. Paul Patton, will take his seat.
“I'm comfortable with it,” Mr. Arnold said. “This document certain ly puts the county in the right direction.”
Audience members had mixed reactions. Residents who wanted to slow development thought the language in the document should have been tougher. Property rights supports said the opposite was true. Others were happy with what they could get no matter which side they were on.
Linda Arlinghaus of Petersburg tried to persuade the commissioners to look at ways that would save farmland and allow land owners to get a fair return on the sale of their property. She was happy the fiscal court kept the door open on the issue.
“At this point in time, it's probably the best we could do to make everybody happy more or less,” she said.
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