The Rockbridge Greens

1999 Platform

COMMUNITY SERVICES

1. We support the development of more parks.
2. We support increased recreational opportunities for all Rockbridge residents and acknowledge a special need for teens and seniors.
3. We recognize a need for more quality child-care.
4. The local governments should continue to support transportation for those with handicaps and should investigate transportation needs for others. We support the development of a good bus stop facility.
5. There is a need for greater recycling efforts by area governments.
6. Recycling facilities should be set up at the dumpster sites so that re-usable items may be set aside and picked up by the public.
7. Yard waste should be processed into mulch instead of buried in the landfill.
8. We support voluntary efforts to assist low-income residents such as Habitat for Humanity, the Free Clinic, and Food Pantries.
9. We support creation and use of local mediation services.
10. We support domestic violence prevention and specifically the efforts of Project Horizon.
11. We support the volunteer fire departments and rescue squads.

ECONOMY

12. We support a diverse economy able to provide meaningful, living-wage employment opportunities for our children who wish to remain in the area.
13. We support locally-owned businesses.
14. We oppose subsidies and give-aways to large corporations.
15. We should seek to increase business activities that add value to products produced in Rockbridge.
16. We support the concept of a business incubator to develop locally-owned businesses.
17. We support training/retraining programs that are designed to meet the needs of local businesses. We also recognize a need for greater coordination among existing programs.
18. We encourage formation of a local credit union and will support legislation to make this easier.
19. Historic preservation is good economic development.
20. We support a study to determine what goods and services are being supplied from outside the county that might be locally provided.
21. Local revenues that have been collected but not yet spent should be invested in ways that assist locally-owned businesses and help low/moderate income families become home-owners.

EDUCATION

22. Education should be a higher priority.
23. We support community elementary schools and will seek to eliminate the need for classroom trailers.
24. Schools need more arts and music.
25. The school programs should be improved to ensure that all children are given challenging work.
26. Elementary class sizes should be small enough to allow for individual instruction, as necessary.
27. We support the use of volunteers in the schools for programs like Roots and Shoots/ FAIR/ Wastewatchers.
28. We encourage the expansion of peer mediation to all schools.
29. We oppose any curricula which teach our schoolchildren to use violence as a means for resolving disputes.
30. Teachers should be paid at least the state average.
31. We need to educate adults to increase their skills.
32. We oppose "commercialization" of our public schools

ENVIRONMENT

33. Local governments should take the initiative in protecting the local environment.
34. The area needs a comprehensive groundwater policy.
35. Area governments should ensure that local surface waters are monitored, either by supporting voluntary efforts or through paid staff if necessary.
36. We support "exceptional waters" designation for the pristine sections of the Maury River.
37. Pollution from the interstates will be an increasing problem. Pollution reduction methods such as planting more trees and not mowing the medians should be pursued.
38. Feedlots should not be next to streams.
39. We need to reduce erosion and flooding caused by clearcutting and over-development.
40. Recycling should include more plastics and make an effort to get businesses involved.
41. We promote composting systems as a method for reducing solid waste.
42. We support a tax credit for people who recycle.
43. We support a night sky ordinance to protect against light pollution at night.

FARMING

44. We support family farms.
45. We encourage farmers markets, community supported agriculture, and other efforts to bring locally grown food to Rockbridge residents.
46. We encourage more diversity in our agricultural production.
47. Prices for farmland must be kept low enough that young farmers can get started.
48. Farming equipment should not be subject to property taxes.
49. Farms should be protected from the pressures of residential development.
50. We need to develop alternatives to selling land, for farmers who are experiencing temporary financial difficulties.

GOVERNMENT

51. County government should be run as democratically as possible. Citizen input should be encouraged and respected at all stages and levels of governing.
52. Area governments should cooperate to reduce unnecessary duplication of infrastructure and administration wherever possible.
53. We support a policy of "smart growth" which seeks to build the locally-owned economy and increase the skills of local workers while encouraging a stable population.
54. The structure of Bd. of Supervisors meetings should be changed to be more welcoming to the public and encourage more public involvement.
55. Closed meetings should be kept to an absolute minimum and the proceedings of those meetings should be made public as soon as feasible.
56. The Board of Supervisors should support any effort to have a referendum placed on the ballot if sufficient signatures are gathered, regardless of their personal views on the question, and should respect the results of such a referendum.
57. The County should have a capital improvements plan so that building projects can be prioritized in a logical manner with public input.
58. Rockbridge County should investigate the possibility of becoming a chartered county as a way of gaining additional rights from the state.
59. There should be a County Ombudsman to help citizens deal with the government.
60. Greater efforts should be made to ensure that qualified, interested persons are on the various county advisory boards.
61. There should be an ongoing process of evaluation of the County administrative employees.
62. There should be more citizen and local government input into the operations of VDOT.
63. The Supervisors should uphold the voters' decision on the airport referendum.
64. Elected officials should not have vested interests in the decisions they are making for the citizens.

HOUSING

65. The County should aggressively pursue grants and programs that assist low/moderate income residents in becoming home owners and upgrading their homes to safe standards.
66. We will seek to ensure that housing and agricultural land remain affordable for Rockbridge residents by discouraging speculation and absentee ownership.
67. We oppose restrictions which have the affect of applying only to low-cost housing.
68. We will seek low-cost housing which provides a more energy-efficient, longer lasting alternative to mobile homes.
69. We support a tax break for Rockbridge residents' primary home.
70. We support assisted living and group homes.

LAND USE

71. We need to protect the rural, small-town character of our community.
72. Planning must be a top priority. We must plan for a Rockbridge that not only meets our current needs, but will provide our great-grandchildren with the same quality of life and opportunity that we now enjoy.
73. The Comprehensive Plan should be followed.
74. Sprawl and strip development should be discouraged.
75. Planning must take into account the impact of the interstates on development.
76. We need to prevent the increased flooding and erosion caused by development.
77. We encourage cluster development. All developments should be required to submit at least one plan showing this option.
78. The infrastructure already in place in the cities and surrounding areas should be fully utilized. We encourage infill development in those areas already developed.
79. Growth should be controlled and over-development prevented. 80. We need to preserve woodland.
81. We need to use land use zoning to address loss of farmland.
82. The County should have an aggressive, voluntary program to purchase and accept donations of conservation easements.
83. The number of existing unsold lots should be a factor in deciding whether to approve new residential subdivisions.
84. We support a viewshed ordinance to protect our valuable views
85. The negative impacts of developments on ridgetops must be stopped.
86. We support a stronger sign ordinance.
87. Every effort should be made to reduce the current negative impacts of the Natural Bridge Speedway on its neighbors, and no increase in these negative impacts should be allowed.

TAXES

88. The citizens of Rockbridge County should not have to pay increased taxes to cover the costs associated with new residential development- including roads, schools, water, sewer, emergency services, waste disposal, law enforcement, etc.
89. County taxes should be structured so that all residents pay as equal a percentage of their income as possible.
90. Taxes should be used to reinforce appropriate development patterns.
91. The tax on electricity and other basic utilities should be more progressive.
92. We oppose the local sales tax on food (not restaurants).
93. We support "land-use" tax break for land kept in open-space.
94. All taxes on the books need to be collected in an aggressive even-handed manner in order to ensure fairness to all tax-payers.
95. Tax reassessments should be done by qualified, impartial assessors. Any indication of favoritism should be taken seriously and investigated.

Rockbridge Greens