Public hearing on UDAs

It’s a full house tonight as people crowd the board chambers to talk about UDAs. So far, every speaker has been against the proposal. Most are talking about property rights–concerned that landowners will lose their rights after the boundaries are drawn. So far, the proposal has been called a UN conspiracy, a socialist plot and a field of dreams.

Many speakers also say that the county doesn’t need more homes, with a housing glut going on.

Many are telling the county to let the market drive the county’s growth, not politicians in Richmond.

County Planning Director Wanda Parrish started the discussion, telling the supervisors that the UDA will in fact be market-driven.

“These are just a guide,” she said repeatedly.

No rezonings will occur when the boundaries are created, she said. Every piece of land will still have to go through rezonings with community input meetings and public hearings.

But speakers say the county has a history of taking people’s land and that eventually, the county will have to tax people and/or tax their lands to create the urban development areas.

Another concern: Lack of jobs. UDAs are supposed to be live, work and play areas, but speakers say that the work part will be really hard when the county has few jobs and most people commute.

Interestingly, earlier today, during a work session, supervisors learned about some new initiatives to bring jobs to the county.

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