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up with the additional money . . . also, it isn’t as large as it appears. I’m not in favor of sending it back as a tax refund.”
How to control the explosion of growth is a question which will continue to confront the Piedmont counties of the 26th District during the coming years. The conflict between the need to provide housing, jobs and services for an increasing population and the wish to preserve the area’s traditional rural, agricultural way of life is one which is likely to intensify, and Mr. Chase feels that “any growth should be determined by local governments, by what they want. There’s no way that the state should dictate development.
“I think the agriculture district program is helping to preserve our farmland,” Mr. Chase said. “It’s a deal between the government and the farmer, so that everybody benefits. The farmer can’t change his mind, so it protects the residents who want to see the open space. On the other hand, it assures the farmer of certain benefits for his land use.” Agriculture districts also ensure, he pointed out, that the land cannot be condemned for power lines or highway improvements.
At the same time, land use taxation is likely to become more controversial in the coming years as well, because of the loss of tax revenues to local governments strapped for funds. “For genuine farms,” Mr. Chase said, “I don’t see how they can exist without it. You’ve got to remember that someone sitting on a 200-acre farm is paying full taxes on the house and the land around it. The proportional cost to the taxpayer is really a savings, since the farmland does not demand the services” which are needed by higher density land uses. “All in all, they’re paying their fair share.”
As for the issue of transfer of development rights, which would allow a landowner to sell development rights in exchange for a permanent easement on his property, Mr. Chase said, “that’s totally a local issue. The board of supervisors, who are directly involved with it, should make that decision. If there were some problem with the state . . . then that’s where I would see the role of the state senator in assisting.
“That’s why,” he added, “I maintain there is no government which has a greater impact on an area than your own local government, whether the board of supervisors or town
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