CHAPTER TWO
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Note to Readers: 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.
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- IDENTIFICATION OF OPEN SPACE RESOURCES, NEEDS, AND PRIORITIES
- OPEN SPACE RESOURCE MAPPING
| Agriculture in Montgomery County |
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I. IDENTIFICATION OF OPEN-SPACE RESOURCES, NEEDS, AND PRIORITIES
To obtain input from citizens regarding the open-space
features that they consider important to the uniqueness of the County, a series
of public workshops was held in March (Round One) and April (Round Two) of 1992.
These workshops were held in four locations throughout the County and one location
in the Town of Blacksburg. One hundred and eleven individuals participated in the
Round-One workshops, and 103 persons attended the Round-Two workshops.
THE WORKSHOP PROCESS
At the Round-One workshops,
participants were divided into small groups. Each group listed all of its members'
responses to the question: "What are the natural, cultural, and recreational
resources that make Montgomery County and the Town of Blacksburg unique and
important to you?" Within each group, the responses were posted for all the
members to see. Each group then ranked the responses in order of importance.
Following these workshops, responses were divided into categories then grouped
into common subjects, or themes. Thus, a response such as "drinking water
needs protection" would be placed in the Water-Resources theme under
the Natural-Resources category.
After the Round-One workshops,
there was a general idea of what resources the citizens believe to be important.
But, to provide protection, the Town and the County must determine the citizens'
perceptions of the threats to these resources. This was the purpose of the Round-Two
workshops.
At the Round-Two workshops,
participants again were divided into small groups. Each group was asked to list
the dangers that its members believe threaten the six themes that generated
the most points at the Round-One workshops (conserve farmland, protect water
resources, protect landowner rights, protect scenic views, preserve historic
sites and structures, preserve rural community and landscape).
To better understand the perceived
threats to open-space resources, the responses generated at the Round-Two workshops
were placed into issue groups. An issue group is a collection of perceived threats
that have similar characteristics. Thus, if "Runoff from pavement" and "Erosion"
were given as threats to the water-resources-protection theme, these responses
would be placed under the "Erosion and Runoff Issue" grouping. Forming issue
groups allowed hundreds of responses to be arranged into thirty-eight groups.
RESOURCES AND THREATS
This section summarizes the
responses from the Round-One and Round-Two workshops. For each of the three
categories (Natural Resources, Cultural and Recreational Resources, and Additional
Important Concerns), the various themes generated from the Round-One workshops
are listed and briefly explained. In addition, the perceived threats to the
themes discussed at the Round-Two workshops are noted.
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Figure 2.1: Natural-Resources Category
-- Point Totals
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Category 1. Natural Resources
Figure 2.1 indicates the three most important themes
under the Natural-Resources category. To the one hundred and eleven citizens participating
in the Round-One workshops these themes are: conserve farmland, protect water resources,
and protect scenic views. For each of these a number of related comments were given,
including both general and site specific. Here is a synopsis of the comments and
threats given for themes under the Natural-Resources category.
Synopsis of Top Natural-Resources
Themes
Theme
1: Conserve Farmland
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Description:Although
many participants believe farmland protection is important, the reasons given
greatly vary. Some responses sway more toward protecting the rural and scenic
qualities that farms provide, while other responses call for protecting the
agricultural economy of the area. Still, other comments focus on saving the
prime agricultural soils by preventing spillover of development onto this
land.
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Perceived
Threats:Some of the perceived threats to local farmland include: various
forms of development encroaching on farmland, the loss of economic viability
in farming, overregulation burdening farmers, and an aging farming population.
Also expressed is concern over the breaking up of once contiguous farms because
of inheritance by multiple surviving family members.
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Theme
2: Protect Water Resources
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Description:The
citizen participants believe various features of our water resources are important.
Many responses deal with protecting specific bodies of water, while other
comments range from keeping the surface and ground water unpolluted to flooding
and wetland concerns.
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Perceived
Threats:Some of the threats to the region's water resources, as defined
by the Round-Two workshops, include: poor land-use practices that cause erosion,
runoff, septic failures, and flooding; poor enforcement; poor water-resource-protection
ordinances; and little awareness and understanding about water resources.
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Theme
3: Protect Scenic Views
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Description:Comments
from the citizen participants focus on the need to preserve the scenic beauty
of Montgomery County, including its mountain views and numerous vistas. In
addition, many locations throughout the community were identified as scenic
areas.
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Perceived
Threats:Insensitive and incompatible development, inconsistent regulations,
pollution and litter, and lack of appreciation for scenic beauty are all general
threats to scenic views that participants expressed at the Round-Two workshops.
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Category 2. Cultural and Recreational Resources
Figure 2.2, which depicts responses regarding the
importance of cultural and recreational resources, indicates a strong preference
for the preservation of historical resources, recognizing the role they play in
defining the character of Montgomery County. Also receiving emphasis is the community
atmosphere of the towns and unincorporated communities scattered about the County.
Blended into this concern for the man-made or man-altered environments that characterize
the heritage of the County is the importance of recreational facilities and sites
that are within these communities and often interconnect them.
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Figure 2.2: Cultural and Recreational
Category -- Point Totals
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Accompanying Figure 2.2 is a
synopsis of the comments given for the themes under the Cultural- and Recreational-Resources
category. The participants in Round-Two Workshops were not asked for perceived
threats to any of the themes under this category.
Synopsis of Cultural and Recreational
Themes
Theme 1:Preserve Historic Sites
and Structures
Description:Comments
from workshop participants focus on protecting and preserving historic buildings
(examples include homes, churches, mills) and historic sites. Many examples of
historic sites and structures were provided by citizens at the workshops.
Theme 2:Preserve Rural Community
and Landscape
Description:The citizens
attending the Round-One workshops find the small town and rural character of the
community to be a major asset. Additional special characteristics identified include
the quietness of the area, its remoteness, the scattered village centers, farmhouses,
isolated homes, open land scattered with forests, and livestock.
Theme 3:Identify Recreational Locations
Description:Recreational locations
that citizens from Round One believe to be important to the County and Town include:
community centers, open recreational spaces, public fishing sites, stocked public
ponds, safe family-recreation areas, and trails (biking and walking).
Category 3. Additional-Important Concerns
Figure 2.3 clearly shows the
strong concern that many of the participants feel for the maintenance of landowner
rights. The use of the term "landowner rights" here relates to the loss of fair-market
value because of increased land-use regulations or because of negative impacts
created by external activities (that is, a change in an adjacent land use that
adversely affects one's property). In addition there is concern about the ability
to do as one pleases with one's own land. The issue of landowner rights ranked
third of all responses given during the Round-One workshops. Citizens also
repeatedly expressed the need for planned growth and concerns related to roads
and traffic.
Accompanying Figure 2.3 is a synopsis of the comments
given for the themes under the Additional-Important-Concerns category. The Round-Two
participants were asked only for perceived threats to the Protect-Landowner-Rights
Theme.
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Figure 2.3: Additional-Important
Concerns -- Point Totals
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Synopsis of Additional-Important
Concerns
Theme 1: Protect Landowner Rights
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Description:Citizens
participating in the Round-One workshops believe strongly that landowners
should have control over their land, regulations should be fair and equal,
trespassing should be controlled, appropriate laws enforced, and just compensation
be provided when restricting landowner rights.
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Perceived Threats:Some
of the threats to landowner rights as identified by Round-Two workshop participants
included trespassing, regulations, adjacent land uses, and road projects.
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Theme 2: Insure Orderly Growth
and Development
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Description:Round-One
participants believe a number of growth and development issues are relevant
to the Initiative. They believe sprawl and strip development should be discouraged,
land-use density and diversity should be encouraged, and growth should be
guided and controlled.
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Perceived
Threats: Threats
were not solicited for this issue.
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Theme 3: Address Road and Traffic
Concerns
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Description:Some
citizens involved in the Round-One workshops expressed concern about reducing
the impact of autos, needing more median-strip plantings and tree-lined streets,
eliminating litter along roadways, and providing better bicycling access along
roads. In addition, there were many concerns raised about specific road problems
including the Blacksburg to Roanoke Direct Link -- Smart-Highway project.
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Perceived
Threats: Threats were not solicited for this issue.
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II. SUMMARY OF IMPORTANT OPEN-SPACE
RESOURCES AND CONCERNS
Figure 2.4 incorporates the themes receiving the most
citizen concern at each of the workshop sites. Water resources and scenic views
were natural resources with medium to high importance at all five workshop sites,
while farmland conservation was a large concern at four of the five sites. The only
place that farmland received a low response was at the Shawsville location, where
only eight citizens participated. The protection of individual landowner rights
received moderate to high responses at all five workshops. Clearly Montgomery County's
and Blacksburg's location, natural features, people, and quality of life make the
area a valuable and unique place to live and work. However, a recurrent concern
expressed by participants at the workshops was the fragility and temporal nature
of the characteristics of County and Town if land conversion continues on its current
course.
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Figure 2.4: Theme Strength From the
Round-One Workshops
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© Montgomery County Department of Planning
Last Updated 6 September 2001
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