How can land use planning benefit our community?
Why do we need a township plan? Here a twelve reasons recommended by Mr. Bob Jurick our representative on the Clark County Planning Board:

1. The Clark County Comprehensive Plan "Crossroads" calls for township plans as an immediate priority. Due to time constraints, Crossroads was approved with some incomplete and inconsistent items. These would be resolved when the township plans were written. The "map" was particularly in need of refinement. As an example, shaded residential growth areas in the plan many times exceed the preferred county-wide growth scenario of 12,700 residences over 25 years.

2. Township plans can help requests for grants or funding (as an example, State Issue 1 requests for green space, farmland protection, brownfield recovery, etc. would gain more merit in the selective process with a township plan – especially if the township were making the request.)

3. The current version of Crossroads does not identify where growth should occur, i.e. urban vs rural. A township plan, which includes a preferred township growth scenario, should help refine this issue. Although an overwhelming majority of county residents want farmland preservation and urban revitalization, "Crossroads" does not state what percentage of the 12,700 residences should be in the townships.

4. A township plan will include an accurate appraisal of our wonderful natural, cultural and historic resources.

5. A township plan will eliminate reactive, case-by-case responses to rezoning, transportation, utility, etc. initiatives. We will be leading rather than following!

6. A township plan will emphasize preferred land uses and discourage unwanted uses. It can be a catalyst to correcting some of our township’s "eyesores."

7. A township plan will provide necessary detail in determining buffer areas for natural areas, well field protection, storm water runoff, etc.

8. A township plan will assess community/resident values and encourage decision agencies to respect these values.

9. A township plan will encourage more citizen involvement and enhance the public’s confidence in the governmental decision process.

10. A township plan will provide more accurate projections to utility, transportation, natural resources and school district planners.

11. A township plan will allow special emphasis on community features such as signage, landscaping, building appearance, etc. This will help give the township a shared identity, i.e. "Sense of Place" rather than being "Anywhere USA."

12. By improving the future quality of life for township residents, the township plan will have a collateral effect of increasing the property values of all residents.