Suburban Richmond Wrestles With 'Smart' Growth?

Residents like Rick Brindle, who lives on a 7 acre lot, are fighting to keep development in Chesterfield County, Virgina at bay, such as a new 24-home, 53-acre development proposed in the area -- too dense he believes, and a burden on the local roads and schools.

"[But] for the region's fastest growing county, a 53-acre proposal barely registers a blip on the development radar. Along state Route 288 on the county's western edge, for example, the recently approved 1,400-acre Roseland project includes up to 5,140 houses, condos and apartments, not to mention another nearly 640-acre mixed-use residential commercial development called Watkins Centre just up the road at 288 at Midlothian Turnpike.

Roseland has been heralded by county leaders for incorporating "smart growth" principles that call for conserving green space and creating walkable communities by allowing more residential units per acre, and including a mix of retail shopping and offices all within a self-contained, interconnected street grid.

The county's future, though, will largely be determined on the smaller battlefields, such as the one taking place in the Brindles' backyard. Most of Chesterfield's residentially zoned, but yet undeveloped, properties are spread out. In fact, the county has so much residentially zoned land that if it were all built out tomorrow, it would amount to more than 43,000 new homes. Chesterfield has about 300,000 residents."