The

fear that Fayette could turn into a concrete

jungle has the county's Planning Commission

digging into creative solutions.

"It's

a complex process and there's no simple

answer," said commission member Fred Bowen

as the group began discussions last week aimed at

reducing the amount of pavement required in

commercial, and possibly residential,

development.

Fayette

may be breaking new ground in addressing the

problem, Bowen said. He asked staff to research

whether other governments have enacted

legislation that Fayette can use as a model.

The

County Board of Commissioners recently directed

the Planning Commission to look into the matter

after Commissioner Glen Gosa pointed out that

county laws restrict the amount of impervious

surface - pavement and buildings -

allowed in shopping centers and businesses, but

at the same time the laws require a minimum

number of parking spaces and minimum widths of

driveways and roads.

Proposed

new state and federal regulations will require

local governments to collect and possibly purify

the rain water that runs off parking lots,

rooftops, driveways and streets. That provides

added incentive to reduce the amount of runoff,

Gosa said.

"We're

creating a problem we're going to have to fix

years down the road when it comes to storm water

runoff," agreed Commissioner Greg Dunn.

Developing

laws that respond to the commission's concern is

a task that falls to the county's planning,

zoning and engineering staffs along with the

Planning Commission.

Numerous

products exist for covering parking lots and

driveways that will allow rain to seep through

into the water table rather than running off into

streams, county zoning administrator Kathy

Zeitler told the commission during its work

session last week.

Possible

changes in the county's rules suggested by staff

include allowing developers to use these porous

paving products for up to 25 percent of their

required parking space.

But

the county has little experience with those

products and needs more information about how

they perform long term before allowing their use

in local construction, commissioners said.

And

most of the products are more expensive than

conventional paving, something that should be

considered as well, commissioners said.

But,

"It may be more costly to [developers] in

the future if they don't do something now,"

said commission Chairman Bob Harbison.

Developers

may have to share in the cost of treating and

controlling storm water runoff, he said.

If

developers are allowed to use these porous paving

products, said commission member Jim Graw, there

will have to be specific requirements about

maintenance. Many of the products become clogged

over time and stop working unless they're

pressure washed or vacuumed, he said.

Another

suggestion is to create a maximum percentage of

impervious surface allowed in residential

development. A similar rule already exists for

commercial and industrial construction.

"Impervious"

surface includes pavement as well as buildings

and any other surface that would block rain water

from seeping into the ground.

Commissioners

will dig into the matter again at their next work

session, June 15, and may ask interested

developers and manufacturers of porous paving

products to join in the talks.

"I

would like to see the cities get involved in this

also," said Graw.

"It's

an awfully good thing to be looking at,"

said Bowen.

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