Land Use Planning

By Bruce Gibson

Future growth can be accommodated only through careful land use planning.

In fact, Planning Commissioner is one of the most rewarding jobs I've ever had, as it's helped me gain insight into both the development threats facing our county and a promising future we might achieve if we can come together to work through some contentious issues.

My guiding principals to land use planning:

Compact urban form: I strongly support the idea of compact urban development. Our county cannot afford sprawl, as it threatens our agricultural lands and the open space that supports our tourist economy.

General Plan amendments: Our General Plan already contains many elements of good land use planning. In my time on the Planning Commission, I've fought to implement the provisions of the existing General Plan + too many exceptions have been granted in the past and those exceptions often resulted in poor projects.

City/County cooperation: The key to successful planning in the future is to engage the county in a closer cooperation with our incorporated cities. Development should be encouraged where services exist to support it and in that issue our cities are key players. I recently commented on the Community 2050 workshops, which I believe are a good step in the right direction.