1992
Montgomery CountyOpen-Space Plan
1992
Montgomery County|
Note to Readers: Given the size of Chapter 3, the file has been divided into three parts. You can access the different parts from either the links provided below or from the main table of contents.The Montgomery County Open-Space Plan was never officially adopted by the Board of Supervisors. The text and supporting materials are being provide as a service, but the plan does not represent current policy. |
I. INTRODUCTION (Part A)
II. GOVERNMENT-INITIATED TOOLS CURRENTLY USED BY THE TOWN OR THE COUNTY (Part B)
III. LANDOWNER-INITIATED TOOLS CURRENTLY USED BY THE TOWN OR THE COUNTY (Part B)
IV. GOVERNMENT-INITIATED TOOLS CURRENTLY NOT USED BY THE TOWN OR COUNTY (Part C)
Greenway-Corridor Plan
Large-Lot Zoning
Performance Zoning
Right-to-Farm Laws
Resource-Buffer and Setback Provisions
Sliding-Scale Zoning
Steep-Slope Provisions
Stormwater-Management Standards
Transfer of Development Rights (TDR)
Urban Growth Boundaries
State Scenic-River Designation
V. LANDOWNER-INITIATED TOOLS CURRENTLY NOT USED BY THE TOWN OR COUNTY
Incentive Zoning
Bargain Sales
Income Tax
Capital Gains
Land Trusts
Other Individual Actions
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A greenway is a linear section of undeveloped land that generally follows a defined resource, such as a stream, ridgeline, or an abandoned rail line. Greenway planning attempts to identify resource corridors and then create a linkage pattern that connects them. In Montgomery County, work toward the development of the Huckleberry Trail (a linear park that will connect Blacksburg and Christiansburg) represents a greenway corridor along an abandoned railroad right-of-way.
Greenway-corridor plans have become increasingly important as long-range planning tools in many areas of the United States as a means for:
• increasing nonmotorized transportation routes that provide more varied and less polluting means of transportation;
• supplying a popular recreational facility;
• preserving wildlife habitat and migration corridors;
• establishing protective buffers along fragile resource corridors;
• establishing buffers of green space between different land uses; and
• providing recreational linkages between various recreational facilities.
The Town of Blacksburg initiated a system of bicycle and pedestrian trails in the 1970s to help transport students and faculty to Virginia Tech and alleviate the Town's parking problems. These nonmotorized transportation corridors have become the base components of a greenway plan for the Town. Recent plans have also initiated a greenway in the South Main Street section of Blacksburg. These projects and the Huckleberry Trail show how greenway planning has begun to take root in Montgomery County.
Greenway-Corridor Plans: Strengths and Limitations |
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Strengths of Greenway-Corridor Plans • Once implemented, greenway-corridor plans can enhance property values and economic-development opportunities. • In the broadest sense, greenway corridors provide jurisdictions with an opportunity to form ties between different open-space lands, creating an open-space network. This network would ensure cultural, aesthetic, and environmental benefits to the community not found in a more fragmented approach to open-space management. • Greenways provide the benefits listed above without hindering future growth and development.
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Limitations of Greenway-Corridor Plans • Greenways may require permission of landowners for corridor access. • The purchase of corridor lands may be necessary. • Greenways require care and maintenance. |
Large-lot zoning, also known as low-residential zoning, has been a popular type of zoning technique throughout the State. Lot sizes traditionally have ranged from one housing unit per five to twenty acres. The perceived utility of large-lot zoning is based on the theory that, by limiting development density, the open-space and agricultural character of an area can be preserved.
Montgomery County and Blacksburg do not have large-lot zoning ordinances. Localities in Virginia that have this zoning include Fauquier County, Fairfax County, and Rappahannock County.
Large Lot Zoning: Strengths & Limitations |
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Strengths of Large-Lot Zoning • Lot sizes of five to twenty acres can be easily accommodated in wooded landscapes with little environmental or aesthetic impact, provided limited clearing of the forest takes place and houses are sensitively sited and designed. • Large lots do preserve open space for backyard recreation and do minimize housing density. • Large lots may protect critical resources (for example, nonpoint pollution entering waterbodies) if development does not occur adjacent to these resources. • Adding large-lot zoning to a zoning ordinance does not require a major revision of the ordinance or significant staff time for enforcement.
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Limitations of Large-Lot Zoning • Large-lot densities are often a waste of rural land. Open agricultural land is fragmented into large lots, producing parcels of land that are often "too large to mow and too small to actively farm." • Large-lot zoning requires extensive road networks and infrastructure. • Large-lot zoning may eventually deplete or pollute groundwater supplies because they are too close together for well and septic systems and too spread out for central utilities. • If land prices are high in a community, large-lot zoning may discriminate against lower-income groups. • Large-lot zoning may cause a substantial reduction in property values and the profitability of land development.
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Performance zoning is a relatively new and flexible zoning technique designed to evaluate development on a project-by-project basis. The process involves preparing a detailed analysis of existing conditions in the area, and estimates the impacts of development on community facilities, the environment, local economic conditions, and any other standards established by the community. Based on this evaluation, points are assigned to a proposed development for each standard previously set by the community. Based on the points received, the development is approved or disapproved. One of the goals of performance zoning is for the developer to show that development will not cost the community more than it will produce in taxes and income.
Performance zoning is not used in Virginia, but communities in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania have had mixed success with it. Bedford County, Virginia, does use a zoning technique named Land Use Guidance System (LUGS). Similar to performance zoning, LUGS uses a point system to rate developments, and no zoning districts are assigned. LUGS is a modification of performance zoning in that it relies heavily on public workshops to formulate point totals for a proposed development.
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Strengths of Performance Zoning • In contrast to "traditional" zoning districts, performance zoning allows the market conditions of the community, the environmental factors on a site, and the surrounding land use to decide the type of development that should be in an area. • Set criteria mandate an impartial evaluation of all projects. • If well framed, performance zoning can save a community money in the future by not having to correct problems caused by poor development. • Allows developers flexibility when they are planning uses for land.
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Limitations of Performance Zoning • Landowners accustomed to traditional limited-use zoning may be opposed to having the potential for mixed uses around their property. • Performance zoning requires the jurisdiction and developer to perform in-depth analyses before beginning construction; these analyses take time, money, additional staff, and increased staff expertise. • Environmental and economic impacts of a project may be difficult to quantify. • Performance zoning is only as good as the established evaluation criteria. How well it works depends on whether these criteria are followed by local officials. • As with most zoning techniques, performance zoning lasts only as long as the political will exists for its continuance. • Performance zoning is relatively new and untried; thus many "bugs" still need to be worked out.
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Right-to-farm laws are intended to conserve, protect, and encourage farming and forestry in a state or community. These laws or ordinances protect farm and forestland owners from certain legal actions against farming and forestry impacts, such as odors, noise, flies, dust, and other externalities associated with these activities. Forty-seven states, including Virginia, have enacted right-to-farm laws. Virginia's Right to Farm Act (Code of Virginia Title 3.1, Chapter 4.5) prevents farming and forestry activities that have been established for more than a year from being charged as nuisances by adjacent landowners. However, the Virginia Act does not close the door on nuisance suits against farm and forest landowners. For a nuisance to be considered, the Virginia Right to Farm Act requires the plaintiff to provide evidence of negligence or improper operation of a farm or forest. Neighbors also can bring nuisance suits against farm or forest owners who change their operations significantly.
Right-to-Farm Laws: Strengths & Weaknesses |
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Strengths of Right-to-Farm Laws • For established farm and forest landowners, these laws provide some protection from newcomers who do not like the annoyances (odors, flies, noise) associated with farming or forestry. |
Limitations of Right-to-Farm Laws • The laws do not prevent nuisance lawsuits against farm and forest landowners. They contain loopholes that allow the finding of negligence or improper operation on the part of a landowner. • Depending on how "significant changes to the farm operation" is defined, nuisance suits may be loosely applied to any farm or forest landowner who changes technology or methods (for example, a new manure-spreading operation or use of bigger, heavier machinery). |
Buffers and setbacks are common planning tools used
to achieve a variety of planning objectives, some of which relate to resource protection.
Buffers and setbacks can be used for visual enhancement, protecting farmers from
adjacent 
nonconforming
uses, or protecting waterbodies from nonpoint-source pollution. Setbacks require
structures to be located a specified distance from a resource. The setback may be
a uniform distance from the resource (fifty feet from a stream), or it may be a
variable distance depending on the resource and its surrounding features (setback
from a stream determined by slope of adjacent land, soil type, size of the stream).
Buffers differ from setbacks. "Buffers" imply that something (typically vegetation)
must be within the buffered area to protect the resource physically (plants to filter
nonpoint-source pollutants). The amount of protection afforded by buffers and setbacks
depends on the uses allowed and restrictions within the buffered or setback area.
Blacksburg and Montgomery County both have common setback provisions for structures within their respective zoning ordinances. Neither community has buffers or setbacks designed solely to protect resources and/or open space. Several Virginia localities do have resource-based setback and buffer restrictions. For example, Albemarle County requires buildings and septic tanks near reservoirs to be set back 200 feet from the edge of the 100-year floodplain and 100 feet from the edge of any tributary stream.
Buffers and Setbacks: Strengths and Limitations |
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Strengths of Buffers and Setbacks • Buffers and setbacks can provide significant resource protection if the proper distances are chosen. • A greenway system may develop by linking lands through the various setbacks and buffers required. • Because buffers and setbacks are commonly used in zoning ordinances, developers, landowners, citizens, and politicians should be familiar with them. • In most cases, buffers and setbacks will not obstruct the ability to develop a parcel of land; rather, they will provide a design constraint. • Buffers and setbacks may enhance the attractiveness of a property and add to its value. • Buffers and setbacks are easily incorporated into existing traditional land-use controls.
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Limitations of Buffers and Setbacks • Buffers and setbacks may appear arbitrary if a uniform distance is used for the setback and buffer requirements. • Certain uses that are prime contributors to the degradation of a resource may be exempt from the buffer and setback requirements. • Provisions for buffers and setbacks are in place only as long as the local political will exists. • A combination of a small lot and large buffer may reduce the development potential of a parcel. • Buffers and setbacks may require additional enforcement personnel. • Enforcement may be difficult when nonuniform setbacks are imposed or where the points of measurement are difficult to determine.
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Resources: Sliding Scale in the A-1 and C-1 Districts in the Montgomery County Zoning Ordinance |
Sliding-scale zoning is implemented by way of the conventional local zoning ordinance. Additional local review will be needed to ensure that densities are calculated based on appropriate physical features (and to verify the presence or absence of these features on a parcel or lot).
Montgomery County and Blacksburg do not currently have sliding-scale zoning. In 1981, Highland County, Virginia, adopted a sliding-scale approach to single-family-home development in its agriculture-zoning district (A-1). The stated purpose of Highland's A-1 district is to "maintain and promote the rural, agricultural, forestal, and open space character of the land in the A-1 zone." The Highland sliding-scale approach limits the number of single-family units allowed on a 14.99 acre tract to 1, and 11 units are permitted on 500 plus acre tracts.
Sliding Scale: Strengths and Limitations |
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Strengths of Sliding-Scale Zoning • Areas of open space and resource sensitivity may be zoned with low density restrictions. • Flexibility is high.
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Limitations of Sliding-Scale Zoning • Reduction in property values may result on properties where density restrictions require a "downzoning" from the current density levels of permissible development. • Tracking compliance with sliding-scale zoning is complicated by the number of sliding-scale density zones (usually twenty to thirty permissible density categories). • Sliding-scale zoning requires extensive staff time and expertise. • Extensive mapping of resources may be necessary before implementing sliding-scale zoning.
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Construction
on steep slopes (greater than 25%) may cause severe soil erosion, sedimentation,
water pollution, negative impacts on views of ridgelines, and septic-disposal problems.
However, the existence of steep slopes does not preclude development. Factors such
as the soil type, geology, and amount and character of vegetative cover play a large
role in determining the amount and density of development on slopes greater than
25%. Localities containing steep slopes that are "sensitive" to development sometimes
take measures to protect these areas. This protection can be implemented through
overlay districts, zoning provisions, or subdivision regulations. Some communities
have an outright ban on development of all slopes greater than 25%; others limit
the amount of land allowed to be disturbed. Still other communities restrict the
amount of development on steep slopes based on factors such as soil type, geology,
and vegetative cover.
Montgomery County and Blacksburg do not have steep-slope provisions in any of their ordinances or regulations.
Albemarle County, Virginia, has a steep-slope ordinance that allows lots but prohibits buildings and septic systems on portions of a lot that have slopes over 25%.
Steep-Slope Provisions: Strengths and Limitations |
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Strengths of Steep-Slope Provisions • Steep-slope provisions may protect critical resources and provide open space to a community. • Steep-slope provisions may be implemented through a variety of means (subdivision ordinances, zoning regulations, and overlay districts).
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Limitations of Steep-Slope Provisions • Because a slope is greater than 25% does not necessarily mean that development will cause damage to critical resources. • Extensive engineering and design may produce low-impact development in areas of steep slope. • Steep-slope provisions are enforced and last only as long as the political will exists to protect the resources.
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Stormwater-management
standards regulate the quantity and quality of runoff allowed from development.
The Code of Virginia (Title 10.1, Chapter 6, Article 1.1) provides an
optional stormwater-management program to localities under the requirements
of the State Stormwater Regulations. The optional stormwater-management program
is mandatory for cities with populations over 100,000 and State institutions,
such as Virginia Tech. The requirements of the stormwater-management program include
the following: post-development runoff must be maintained at or lower than pre-development
levels; building permits may not be issued until a stormwater-management plan is
approved; and technical analyses, such as current and projected runoff volumes,
velocities, and downstream impacts, must be performed. In addition, localities can,
with limitations, establish stormwater-management programs more stringent than the
State requirements. One method of stormwater management involves constructing retention
or detention basins that hold runoff. These basins or ponds can be designed to provide
open-space amenities while at the same time protecting the water quality by slowing
runoff and reducing pollutant levels.
Although there are stormwater components to Blacksburg and Montgomery County's erosion- and sediment-control ordinances, neither locality has adopted the optional stormwater-management ordinance. However, some of the developments in the two jurisdictions are beginning to use the stormwater components of the erosion- and sediment-control ordinance to create open-space areas. Larger localities in Virginia are beginning to address stormwater quantity and quality issues because of EPA regulations, and many of these jurisdictions will likely tie their ordinances to the provision for open space.
Stormwater-Management Standards: Strengths & Limitations |
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Strengths of Stormwater-Management Standards • Stormwater-management standards can reduce nonpoint-source pollution in addition to preventing flash flooding.
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Limitations of Stormwater-Management Standards • Effectiveness varies depending upon technique utilized. • Extensive watershed studies are required to initiate stormwater-management standards. • Stormwater-management standards increase the costs of development and add to maintenance costs. • Stormwater-management standards require a community to have staff and expertise necessary to review and enforce stormwater-management plans. • Stormwater-control structures require regular maintenance to ensure that they will not fail.
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TDR
is a relatively recent planning tool, designed to protect sensitive areas from development
by permitting or requiring the transfer of development from a location deemed unsuitable
to a location considered more appropriate. TDRs can be established as either voluntary
or mandatory. In both voluntary and mandatory TDR systems, sending zones are established
where development is discouraged, and receiving zones are identified where high-density
growth is encouraged and accommodated. Landowners within sending zones are allowed
to sell development rights to landowners within the receiving zones. By purchasing
development rights, landowners within receiving zones are able to develop at densities
greater than those permitted under the conventional zoning ordinance. Under a mandatory
TDR system, landowners in the sending zones would have severe development restrictions
placed upon their land. These restrictions would be offset by the ability to sell
development rights to landowners in receiving zones that wish to develop at a high
density.
TDR is currently not permitted in Virginia, but a few localities in states such as Maryland and New Jersey have attempted TDR programs with mixed success. It is still an evolving concept that appears to work with the proper preparation and public involvement.
Transfer of Development Rights: Strengths and Limitations |
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Strengths of TDR • TDR attempts to avoid the "taking" issue by allowing landowners with severe restrictions on their property to sell their development rights. • TDR can be very successful at protecting critical resources and providing open space in sending areas.
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Limitations of TDR • Although simple in concept, TDR requires a great deal of administrative planning and management to solve complex issues (for example, for a TDR to work, a development-rights bank must be established to purchase development rights when willing buyers are not in the market). • Additional planning staff is required to implement the complex programs associated with TDR. • If TDR is voluntary it is almost certainly doomed because it will rarely be used. If made mandatory, the TDR program will have to be very well planned and implemented, or it will fail because of landowner and political dissatisfaction. • Landowners in receiving areas may be subjected to increased traffic, noise, loss of open space, and higher densities than allowed under traditional ordinances. • Receiving areas must have the necessary infrastructure in place to withstand the increased development pressures. • TDR programs last only as long as the political will exists to encourage them. |
A
simple version of an urban growth boundary (UGB) consists of a perimeter "drawn"
around an urbanized area, within which urban development is strongly encouraged,
and outside of which development is limited. Within the urban-growth area, urban
services and facilities are provided to accommodate ten to twenty years of future
growth. UGBs are used for two purposes: (1) to promote compact and contiguous development
patterns that can be efficiently served by public services, and (2) to preserve
open space, agricultural land, and environmentally sensitive areas that are not
currently suitable for urban-style development.
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Oregon currently has a stringent UGB measure that allows localities to prevent almost all development outside their designated urban-growth areas. Most Virginia localities designate urban-growth districts, but the implementation is not as restrictive as Oregon's measure. Virginia's urban-growth districts are areas where land-use controls and capital investments are focused.
One example of a stringent UGB in Virginia is Virginia Beach's "green line," which limits infrastructure and places strong development restrictions on the southern section of the city. The northern portion is designated as a growth area and all necessary infrastructure is provided. The "green line" is still in effect in Virginia Beach, but because of political manipulation caused bylandowner discontent, the geographic location of the "line" has been altered. Changing the location of the "green line" by landowner request suggests that the Virginia Beach local government has set a precedent that will ultimately weaken the UGB concept there.
Urban Growth Boundaries: Strengths and Limitations |
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Strengths of UGBs • UGBs encourage compact, orderly development in areas most suitable for growth, while discouraging intense development in unsuitable areas. • UGBs can protect valued resources such as water, wetlands, scenic views, and farmland.
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Limitations of UGBs • UGBs can be difficult to implement administratively and politically. • When strongly implemented, landowners' rights to develop can be severely curtailed. • If UGBs are implemented incorrectly, court cases may follow. • Growth that does occur outside the UGB boundaries may not be resource sensitive unless protection strategies are in place. • If only the provision of urban services is employed to promote growth within a UGB, then considerable development outside the UGB is still likely to occur. • UGB boundaries are susceptible to change through political pressures.
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Resources 1996 Virginia Outdoor Plan (Virginia Department of Conservation & Recreation) |
The Scenic Rivers Act was passed by the Virginia General Assembly in 1970. This Act authorized the establishment of a scenic-river system for the purpose of identifying, protecting, and preserving certain rivers, or sections of rivers, that possess natural or pastoral beauty. The designation provides certain protection for these rivers and gives owners of riverfront land and other local citizens a greater voice in government actions that might adversely affect their river. The State has so far designated segments of 17 rivers (a total of 346 miles) as scenic.
Sections of both the New and Little Rivers that run through Montgomery County have been studied and found to be worthy of Scenic-River status (see 1989 Virginia Outdoors Plan). When proposed to the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors in the Spring of 1992 this designation for the Little River was not recommended because of citizen dissatisfaction.
State Scenic-River Designation: Strengths and Limitations |
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Strengths of State Scenic-River Designation • Designation highlights the river as an outstanding natural resource. • Scenic designation requires authorization by the General Assembly for the construction, operation and/or maintenance of any structure, such as a dam, that will impede the natural flow of a designated river. • Scenic designation requires the Governor to appoint an advisory committee of local individuals. This gives riverfront landowners and local citizens greater say in federal or state projects that may affect the river. • Tourism attracted by the designation could benefit the local economy.
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Limitations of State Scenic-River Designation • Some may view designation as government intervention. • Designation may bring more visitors to a resource that is sensitive to human uses. • Increased tourist use of the river may negatively affect adjacent landowners.
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Incentive zoning, also named bonus zoning or density bonus, provides incentives for developers to incorporate design features desirable to the community (maintenance of water-resource protection, scenic views, resource setbacks and buffers, recreational trails). The incentive for providing these amenities is typically that of allowing a developer to build at a greater overall density than permitted under the zoning ordinance or to reduce parking requirements for commercial establishments. Other incentives used by some communities include relaxing setback requirements, reducing landscape requirements, increasing floor-to-area ratios, and increasing permitted signage (for commercial developments).
Montgomery County and Blacksburg do not have incentive zoning. James City County, Virginia, has incentive zoning that permits the granting of 2.5% to 10% density bonuses. Density bonuses are given for creating scenic easements along any road designated by the comprehensive plan as a greenbelt, providing buffer areas around marshes, preserving archeological or historic sites, and protecting habitats for rare or threatened species of plants or wildlife. Density bonuses in James City County are granted only when the increased density will not impair the character of an area or reduce the value of surrounding property.
Incentive Zoning: Strengths and Limitations |
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Strengths of Incentive Zoning • Incentive zoning is voluntary; thus it does not infringe on landowner rights. • Greater design flexibility can be granted to the developer who provides amenities to the community. • Open space and important resources can be protected under incentive zoning. • Incentive zoning does not impose any direct costs on landowners and developers. • Incentive zoning requires minimal modification to the existing regulatory framework. • Implementation of incentive zoning is relatively simple.
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Limitations of Incentive Zoning • Incentive zoning is not mandatory; thus there is little assurance that desired project designs will result. • The incentives offered — higher densities or reduced parking — may not be sufficient for a developer to change the way things have always been done. • Adjacent landowners often frown upon density increases. • Local politicians and planners must be careful to address adequately the impacts of greater density on the existing infrastructure (increased traffic, sewer use, and waste disposal). • Incentive zoning may be construed as undermining the local comprehensive plan. • Careful analysis of local market conditions is necessary to determine whether and to what degree a bonus incentive will actually result in the desired community amenities.
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Bargain sales and other donative transactions are the primary tools that land trusts and public charities use to acquire land. A bargain sale is the conveyance of land at a price below its fair-market value.
Selling property to a public charity or government entity at a bargain price is tantamount to making a gift, or charitable contribution, to that organization. The value of the gift is the difference between the appraised fair-market value of the land and the sale price. Bargain sales offer several important tax benefits including:
Bargain Sales: Strengths and Limitations |
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Strengths of Bargain Sales • Bargain sales offer an excellent way to acquire important properties, for both governments and public organizations (land trusts), by providing a reduced purchase price to the buyer and often significant tax savings to the seller.
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Limitations of Bargain Sales • A bargain sale may not provide significant benefit to a seller who has owned a property for only a short period (since the property may not have increased much in value), thus limiting the capital-gain savings. • A bargain sale requires a seller who is willing to pay the appraisal costs and undergo the I.R.S. scrutiny of a donative sale.
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Charitable contributions are deductible, subject to certain limitations, from the donor's adjustable gross income. This situation can significantly reduce income-tax liability and improve cash flow in the year the gift is made, and possibly during the five succeeding years as well.
If the land has appreciated in value, a bargain sale — in addition to the benefits of a charitable contribution — can reduce or offset capital gains, further improving cash flow.
Given these benefits, a bargain sale may leave a landowner in the same financial position as an open-market sale and eliminate the costs associated with land ownership. If there is a sluggish market that prevents property sale, or if there is a large difference between the current sale price and the appraised value, a bargain sale can relieve the owner of certain financial burdens (interest, insurance, maintenance costs, and property-tax payments). Combining these financial benefits with tax benefits from a bargain sale, a landowner can be compensated at a level nearly equivalent to a fair-market-value sale.
Land trusts are nonprofit groups that protect land directly through gifts, purchase, conservation easements, or other methods. They may also be involved in land-conservation education and advocacy. Land trusts operate in rural, urban, and suburban areas, protecting wetlands, coastlines, farmland, natural areas, urban gardens, trails, and other special places. Their focus may be local, regional, or statewide.
Virginia land trusts include The Virginia Chapter of the Nature Conservancy (TNC), the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and the Lower James River Association. The principal purpose of land trusts is to protect specific properties or natural- and cultural-resource areas by acquiring full or partial ownership rights to them.
Land Trusts: Strengths and Limitations |
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Strengths of Land Trusts • Land trusts are nongovernmental, conservation organizations that are not subject to political sway and usually do not involve public funds for their support. • Land trusts are generally able to move more quickly and with less red tape in important land-acquisition endeavors. • Land trusts usually own and monitor properties and conservation easements, thus relieving local, county, and state government of such responsibilities.
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Limitations of Land Trusts • Land trusts are generally limited by internal policies that dictate the geographic area and types of conservation projects in which they are interested (TNC acquisitions are limited to rare- and endangered-species habitats, and the New River Land Trust to purchases in the New River Watershed). • Land trusts often operate on minimal financial resources and with limited or no full-time staff, a situation that curtails their ability to accept many projects at a time.
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The measures listed in Tables 3.1 and 3.2 and described in this chapter represent both active and passive land-management techniques. Managing open space may involve one or more of these techniques depending on the needs of the Town or County. However, an equally important component of management is embodying the community spirit that is central to open-space planning.
There are a number of programs implemented by state and local agencies that reflect this sense of community. Examples include the: All-American City Awards, Certified Tree Farm Program, Forest Stewardship Program, and National Register Historic District Designation.
These programs are national or statewide in scope. Local recognition programs can also be developed around open-space initiatives, just as the Town and County annually recognize outstanding businesses through an industrial-appreciation program.
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of Planning & Inspections
Last Updated 19 September 2001
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