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AN ITEM for the "be careful what
Both supervisors provided questionable reasons for seeking the added commercial development, citing the distance residents must travel to reach shopping centers and doctor's offices. What follows, they suggest, is Spotsylvania losing revenue to neighboring Louisa and Orange counties. Perhaps a border fence is in order?
To suggest that a 20-minute drive to Bloom is an unfair burden on people who choose to live in a (decreasingly) rural area is comedic. While we realize that misplaced nostalgia is just as dangerous as blindly embracing "progress," this seems like the perfect time to remind everyone that when we were kids, we had to walk 10 miles to school, uphill, each way.
Hyperbole aside, Messrs. Marshall and Waddy need to think before they act to change the unique character of the areas they represent. Spotsylvania County has decided to focus growth in the Primary Settlement District of the Interstate 95, U.S. 17, and State Route 3 areas. There are practical reasons for this--infrastructure basics like public water and sewer already exist there, and much of that corridor has already been touched by development.
There is also an important philosophical reason for concentrating growth in the PSD. Doing so could, in theory, spare the Livingston and Berkeley districts from the rampant growth that makes shopping a chore, even if you live in the eastern part of the county.
There is value in this line of reasoning, and longtime county residents like Mr. Marshall and Mr. Waddy should be the first to see it. They've spent decades enjoying the advantages of a lifestyle that is becoming increasingly hard to find. The forests and farmland of western Spotsylvania are the last vestiges of a pre-commuter county that is still an attractive respite, especially for those who call it home.
The county doesn't have the luxury of rich Tidewater plantation soil, nor does it have the moneyed upper crust of Albemarle, so the financial pressure to develop western Spotsylvania is high. It might be impossible to relieve that pressure, but it would be unfortunate for the county to lose its rural character completely.
Mr. Marshall and Mr. Waddy should resist additional commercial development in their districts, not only for their constituents' sake, but for the benefit of the entire county. You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone.
