September 3, 1997
TO: Working Group on Growth and the Quality of Life-Bluegrass
FROM: Ed Jennings
The growth issues that receive so much attention in Lexington (see the memo to that working
group) have their parallels in surrounding counties of the metropolitan area as other communities
grapple with issues of land use, economic development, and the quality of life. You have to make a
basic choice between two options. One is to select a neighboring county and/or community and
focus on land use issues there. If you do that you will need to identify relevant issues, analyze the
interest and values at stake, decide whether to focus on process or substantive concerns, and
proceed to develop recommendations for local decision makers.
The other alternative is to examine land use planning in the region, asking how a fragmented
decision-making system affects patterns of growth, economic development, and the quality of life.
Are there unintended consequences that flow from independent decision-making by different
communities? Do land use decisions in one county have impacts on neighboring communities or
counties? Is there a problem? If so, what if anything can be done about it? Are there procedural or
structural solutions? Can competing values and interests be accommodated in a regional
framework?