Have you sat in an early morning or late afternoon parking lot that was designed to move traffic? Yes, most of us have in Lexington County. And you may be ready to believe that uncontrolled or misdirected growth is Public Enemy No 1. County Council man Darrell Hudson agrees with you. He has watched the congestion in front of his Hudson Brothers location on US 378 stifle business. He has proposed restricting high density development from 14 homes an acre to only 4. Over 200 people filled the County Council chambers last week to support his proposal. Hudson does not aim to restrict growth in areas that need and can absorb it. But something must be done about runaway development like that occurring in Chapin and Lexington which has not only over-powered our roads but the rest of our infrastructure, too. Normally we are pro growth. We believe that the market, not government, should determine how private individuals use their property in a free society. But a rapid influx of new residents has skyrocketed school, hospital, county and municipal services costs and with it our taxes to accommodate up to 1,000 people a month who are moving in with us. Due to the outdated tax system, those of us who are already here have to pay for it. Earl McLeod of the Building Industry Association and many of his members oppose Hudson’s proposal which is limited to his district only. They see it as an unwarranted intrusion into their development business. It is but it’s needed. The county isn’t going far enough fast enough. What’s needed is more than limiting development to 4 houses an acre. We need an intelligently researched and designed impact tax on new development. The newcomers must help us pay for their impact. We also need a paid-in-advance property tax where new owners pay taxes for the next 12 months at the closing of the purchase of their property.

– Jerry Bellune