
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, July 22, 1994                   TAG: 9408120003
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A9   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: TERRANCE L. HARRINGTON
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

COMMUNITY IMPACT

VIRGINIANS interested in protecting or improving the quality of life in their communities received welcome news recently from the U.S. Supreme Court. In Dolan vs. City of Tigard, the court told local governments they may continue to impose conditions on property development, provided the conditions are reasonable and advance a legitimate community interest.

Both property owners and municipalities can be encouraged by the ruling. Virginia landowners can continue to be confident that their property will not be taken for public use without just compensation. Of equal importance, communities can be assured that they may still require property developers to act in the public's best interest.

The case stems from Florence Dolan's desire to demolish her 10,000-square-foot plumbing-supply store in Tigard, Ore., and replace it with one nearly double the size. The city of Tigard, in granting the request, required Dolan to dedicate about 10 percent of her property for flood-plain protection and a streamside bicycle path. The city contended that increased stormwater runoff and traffic, resulting from a larger store, justified the requirements.

Dolan disagreed, arguing that the city did not adequately demonstrate how her proposed new store would impact the community. She contended that the city forced her to choose between the building permit and her right under the Fifth Amendment to just compensation for the public easement.

Although Oregon courts had ruled against Dolan, the high court found in her favor. The court said local governments must show a "rough proportionality" between effects of new development and the amount of land government wishes to use, but not pay for, to protect the public interest.

What the Dolan decision demonstrates more than anything else is the need for quality planning in communities across Virginia. Good planning can balance the needs of property owners with the desires of the community. It can help municipalities determine the potential impact of new development and take measures to protect citizens from harmful effects. Since plans are developed with extensive citizen participation, they reflect a community's values.

If municipalities hope to preserve their unique character, they should heed the court's planning imperative. Otherwise, they risk potential lawsuits from angry property-owners.

The court has sent the Dolan case back to the Oregon Supreme Court, where the city of Tigard will have a chance to show a reasonable relationship between its requirements and the potential impacts associated with Dolan's proposed new store. The city must show that the public-private balance in land use is equitable. And that, after all, is what planning and planners in Virginia are committed to.

Terrance L. Harrington is Roanoke County's planning director and president of the Virginia Chapter of the American Planning Association.

by CNB