Will Rockingham County Be Paved Over?


Will Rockingham County Be Paved Over?
February 22, 2008 Filed In: building lots, development, government, new construction, preservation, smart growth, zoning
I have heard some people talk about development as if in the next few years, or decades, all of Rockingham County will be developed --- with the farm land destroyed, and our history no longer preserved. Below I'll try to put that thought in the context of actual land use, but for the record --- I don't think many at today's Smart Growth Symposium thought that the above statement is true. (Lest anyone conclude that I am referring to any of the attendees). The data above is extracted from the Rockingham County Comprehensive Plan, particularly page 18 of the section on Strategies, Policies and Actions. Here's the full list of how Rockingham County land is being used: Agriculture - 248,000 acres (46%) Forest - 50,000 acres (9%) Commercial - 4,000 acres (0.7%) Industrial - 1,400 acres (0.3%) Single Family Residential - 44,000 acres (8.2%) Multi-family or Duplex - 175 acres (<0.1%) Mobile Home Park - 1,100 acres (0.2%) Federal Government - 178,000 acres (33%) State Government - 500 acres (0.1%) Local Government - 1,700 acres (0.3%) Regional Government - 130 acres (<0.1%) Charitable/Religious/Education - 2,300 acres (0.4%) Other - 7,000 acres (1.8%) As you can see --- much of Rockingham County will likely never be developed (33% is owned by the government) --- and we still have an extraordinary amount of undeveloped land.
Based on information from the Harrisonburg-Rockingham Association of REALTORS® or its MLS, for the period Jan 1, 2000 through Sep 10, 2010 (unless otherwise noted).
Have any questions? Contact Scott Rogers at 540-578-0102 or scott@cbfunkhouser.com
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Close Comments 2 Comments so far . . . cook: I recently had the opportunity to fly over Rockingham Coutnty at low altitude, and it was shocking to see from the air how little of the county is developed. I think it might feel over-developed here on the ground because it has been developed so randomly with no apparent planning and horrible flow, but there is still plenty of green space. February 23, 2008 10:01 pm Scott: Did you get some photos? :) February 23, 2008 10:33 pm Add A Comment: Name (required) E-mail (required, not published) Website Prove you're not a comment-spammer . . .