the gridlock in Tidewater and Northern Virginia, and the

the gridlock in Tidewater and Northern Virginia, and the growth which has created that. ”

And to address those concerns, Del. Cranwell cited two options: raise taxes statewide and funnel the money in to break the gridlock “or let the growth occurring in that area make a substantial contribution to that transportation system.”

Rural counties also need new growth management tools

While the subcommittee chairman focused on Virginia’s booming urban areas, speaker after speaker maintained that rural counties with smaller tax bases and fewer revenue sources need impact fees as much — and maybe more —than the localities in the golden crescent.

“Rural localities and small towns have a greater difficulty in meeting the rapidly expanding need for public facilities, especially highway improvements, new roads and new schools,” said Greg Brittingham, planning director for the Town of Culpeper.

And like others, he not only asked for impact fees but also that conditional zoning be broadened to allow counties to accept monetary proffers, authority now permitted in six Virginia counties. Both the town of Culpeper and Culpeper County were recently offered cash contributions by developers to pay for roads and new schools, but under current enabling legislation, neither was able to accept, he told the subcommittee members.

He acknowledged that the numbers of building permits in the county and town of Culpeper may seem negligible next to the numbers in Prince William, Loudoun, and Fauquier. “But it’s all relative. When it (the number of permit applications) doubles and triples, it severely strains the ability of local government to respond in a timely and cost efficient manner. . .We’re looking for hroader powers. We want the ability to take the handcuffs off when we’re dealing

•: See FEES, p. 16