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By Bayard L. Catron
Rappahannock News
Contributing Writer
This is the fourth and final opinion piece in the series on land use, planning, and related issues in the county.
Nearly everyone would agree that a strong and healthy community is important. To most Americans, this means such things as a safe place to raise a family, friendly and supportive neighbors, good employment opportunities and a stable economy.
Natives and newcomers to Rappahannock County treasure this place — its beauty and history, and its rural character. To most of us, this is a wonderfully attractive place to live and work and play — unlike many homogeneous suburbs or urban neighborhoods.
As I have experienced it since moving here, this community is a place where a person can feel rooted, and flourish. And it is a place where people can be deeply connected, aesthetically and spiritually, to the natural environment around them.
Though it might be hard to believe as we travel the back roads or gaze out over our rolling farmland, there are already ominous clouds on the horizon that look like sprawl. (Those who remember Fairfax or Tysons or Manassas — or Warrenton or Culpeper — a generation ago know how fast things can change.)
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