Recently, home

builders across the country were dismayed to hear national radio personality

Paul Harvey blame our industry for the disappearance of farmland, unpopular

decisions by zoning officials and the disappearance of green space.

More than any

other industry, the home builders are affected by the debate over growth

as well as home buyers. Our builders work in a world in which demand is

strong, but the pressure to limit growth is often intense.

But let's look

at the big picture, the "rest of the story," as Mr. Harvey puts

it.

Home builders

supply an essential product. This country's expanding population requires

and deserves decent, affordable shelter. The population of the United

States will grow by some 30 million over the next 15 years. Approximately

1.3 million new households will be created each year and we will see a

demand for about 1.1 million new homes per year.

But over the

last two decades, the number of communities seeking to limit growth has

grown dramatically. Almost always, this anti-growth sentiment is strongest

where housing demand is greatest. So how do we meet the demand for 1.1

million homes a year in an era in which many people are concerned about

growth?

The National

Association of Home Builders believes the answer is smart growth, with

an emphasis on meeting housing demand and innovative land use planning.

Without smart

growth, housing costs will continue to skyrocket beyond the reach of low-

and middle-income consumers in places where demand for housing is not

met. Americans will be forced to commute ever-longer distances to their

jobs in major employment centers.

Home builders

are part of the solution for ensuring that we and our children have safe,

decent, affordable housing and America continues to lead the world in

providing its citizens with high quality of life.

Mr. Harvey

also implied during his 15-minute broadcast that there has been a massive

depletion of our country's agricultural resources due to development,

but the facts prove otherwise.

According to

the U.S. Department of Agriculture, urbanization is not threatening the

U.S. food supply. The population of the Untied States has increased by

approximately 80 percent over the past 50 years, while our food production

has increased by 189 percent. We're still paying farmers NOT to grow crops.

In fact, the

amount of land used today for growing crops is virtually identical to

50 years ago. And, contrary to Mr. Harvey's assertions, built-up land

comprises a scant 6 percent of the 1.9 billion acres within the 48 contiguous

states, versus about 50 percent devoted to farmland.

Finally, Mr.

Harvey concluded his remarks by saying, "Such a few years down the

road today, Americans will look about them at the economic infertility

which subverted our prosperity, and we will be poor again; and we will

be beating our breasts in anguish then, demanding to know why didn't somebody

warn us."

Unfortunately,

a few years down the road, Americans are far more likely to be "beating

their breasts" in frustration over housing shortages and costs than

they are about the disappearance of cropland. For there will be plenty

of food for all, but there won't be enough housing to go around in areas

with no-growth mandates.

The vast majority

of builders are small businessmen and women who rely on their solid reputations

in the communities where they have long lived and worked.

Home builders

are your neighbors. They hold fundraisers for charities like the March

of Dimes, Make a Wish Foundation and Ronald McDonald House (or as is the

case with the Home Builders Association of Midwest Georgia, they sponsor

the Scholarship House Program).

Their kids

go to school with your kids. They donate their labor and skills to build

homes with Habitat for Humanity and ramps for the disabled. They renovate

and improve community baseball fields, park facilities and shelters for

the homeless. Home builders care about their communities.

If you heard

Mr. Harvey's broadcast, if you are concerned about smart growth, if you

realize that more affordable housing is an urgent need for many Americans,

now you know "the rest of the story."

You owe us

an apology, Mr. Harvey. Shame on you.

(John Hayes,

who is with Torrey Homes, is president of the Home Builders Association

of Midwest Georgia, which serves a membership of approximately 440 builders

and associate members in Fayette, Coweta, Spalding, Heard and Meriwether

counties.)