The

Fayette County Planning Commission Thursday will

continue its discussion of ways to keep the

county from being buried in concrete and asphalt.

At

the request of the county Board of Commissioners,

the planning panel last month began a study of

porous paving materials. It's hoped that county

development regulations can be changed so that

use of alternatives to pavement will be

encouraged.

"It's

a complex process and there's no simple

answer," said commission member Fred Bowen

as the group began discussions.

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.

County

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.

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 month. In some cases, plain old

gravel may be acceptable, commissioners said.

Possible changes in the county's rules suggested

porous paving products for up to 25 percent of

their required parking space.

But

the county has little experience with most of the

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.

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