Industry, Industrial Parks and Nelson County

The Industrial Revolution in America (perhaps more invention than revolution) did not begin to flourish until the nineteenth century and continued well into the twentieth century. It brought with it great benefits to this nation as well as great ills in the form of forced child labor, pollution and unhealthy working conditions. We are too aware of its ill effects in recent times as well with well-publicized disasters such as Love Canal, PCBs in the Hudson River and the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island. In Virginia we have endured the destruction of much of our shellfish industry and the poisoning of the James River with deadly Kepone. Even our beloved Nelson in 1976 suffered the largest fish kill in the history of the Commonwealth in the beautiful Tye and Piney Rivers eventually resulting in our own EPA Superfund site in the community of Piney River.

Our nation and the Commonwealth have learned the hard way that regulation of industrial practices is necessary for us to reap the benefits of modern industry while maintaining a livable environment. An important part of the management of industry in the communities of America over the last half-century has been the industrial park. But over the years the nature of industrial parks has changed. We understand better that certain industries are suitable for certain locations and not others based upon topography, natural resources, compatibility with other local industry, the size and nature of the workforce, etc. We more fully understand the tax implications, the service requirements, the politics, the financial and the environmental impact. Based upon these factors we must carefully determine what businesses we wish to attract, where they should be located and over what period of time. We must take control of our future by carefully structuring our zoning ordinances and incentives to industries. The result of failing to do so is quite evident all around.

What industries will seek us out? Some will see Nelson as a desirable environment in which to live and work and to raise children. Other industries, considered undesirable, will seek any place that will accept them. Wintergreen Resort looked for a pristine rural environment, mountainous terrain and a workforce suited to its needs - a place that radiated hospitality. They found that in Nelson. It was a good fit. Over the years other industries have considered locating here. A nuclear power plant was proposed for the James in Nelson and twice we were faced with the prospect of a state prison locating here. The citizens of Nelson let their voices be heard loud and clear and both proposals were abandoned.

Two reasons are generally given for seeking industry. The first is that we need to improve our tax base and the second is that we need local jobs. Both of these are good objectives. We must ensure that we meet these objectives in attracting industry. A companion argument with improving our tax base is that without more industry we will create a tax deficit since increased residential growth requires services such as schools. Generally, this argument is valid. However we should carefully review our particular circumstances in Nelson. Almost half of our residential real estate taxes come from absentee landowners. Wintergreen is the foremost example of this. The individuals owning these parcels require limited services form the County. Furthermore, Nelson residents pay only 1 cent of every 2 cents increase in real estate taxes since these absentee landowners pay the other 1-cent. Many of our residents are retirees. While they do require some services, they do not require the most expensive service - schooling for their children.

The jobless rate in Nelson Co. is currently quite low. It is true that many of the businesses at which our citizens are employed are outside the County. This might be a plus or a minus depending upon the job and your point of view. If a large industry requiring many employees were to locate in Nelson tomorrow most of its employees would have to come from out of the County simply because we do not have the work force to support such an industry. If those workers were to move here with their families then we might find ourselves with a much larger school age population and thus would need to expect to receive substantial tax monies from the new industry in the very near future to pay for schools and other services.

Our industrial park revenue history to date has been nothing to brag about. We currently have two industrial parks - one in Lovingston and the other at Colleen. The Lovingston park has lost a substantial amount of money. A concern of many citizens is that in our desire to recoup that loss we will accept less-than-desirable tenants in the future. Certainly, the tenants of our new shopping center could have been required to adhere to higher standards in traffic control, landscaping and location. Strip development may be cheap but one wonders if our neighbor, Madison Heights, is satisfied with what it has become.

The land for the Colleen industrial park was created to house Central Virginia Electric Coop's new headquarters. Only one other small business has located there even though there is capacity for many more. The development of this park precipitated the building of new roadway, 6 miles of water and sewer lines, a sewage treatment plant and the development of water resources. An objective study may show a lack of profitability for some time. The newest proposed industrial park will require another very large investment by the County. When one considers that the state government and Amherst Co. are helping to finance this park one must wonder if they perceive it is a better investment for them than it is for us. A survey of localities with significantly more development than Nelson does not reveal lower tax rates in those localities. Certainly this should sound a note of caution, as the presence of more industry obviously does not guarantee lower taxes. As our neighboring counties continue to grow they have less space and less desire to accommodate industry. This puts Nelson in a very competitive position. As we maintain our desirable living environment in the future we should be able to pick the industries we desire the most. We have somewhat limited industrial potential here and we should not be in too great a hurry to expend it.

Where are our business successes in Nelson? Tourism and small businesses in Nelson have flourished in recent years. Agriculture, which has seen some decline, has begun to rebound due in part to agricultural specialties and due in part to its connection to tourism. The relatively small amount of money that we have spent on tourism, small business and agriculture in Nelson has been a wise investment indeed. While industry located in industrial parks can play an important role in our future we must ensure that it does not detract from the still-growing businesses that have served us so well in the past. A focus on these industries could reap surprising rewards. For example, perhaps a countywide apple festival weekend advertised throughout the Commonwealth could boost sales not only of apples but at many other County businesses much as Camp Jeep has done.

We should be very cognizant of our trend toward strip-development on Rt. 29. Locating another industrial park on 29, the Dept. of Transportation's plans for expansion of Rt. 29 and other factors could lead to an identification of Nelson Co. with industrial/commercial strip development much as Amherst Co. is identified (negatively) with Madison Heights.

The future of Industrial Parks appears to be changing. In order to locate in a community's industrial park businesses are now typically required to agree to significant covenants. Responsible and desirable businesses are generally willing to do so if for no other reason than to protect themselves from undesirable businesses that might later seek to locate in the park. The individuals who work for these businesses become members of our community and want the protections these covenants provide for the community for same reasons we do. An example of industrial park convents for Rowan County Kentucky may be found on the web at

http://www.edc-eky.org/covenants.htm. Additional important information on "Developing Rural Industrial Parks" and other related topics has been developed by Ohio State University and is accessible on the web at http://www.ag.ohio-state.edu/~ohioline/key/zoning.html.

Another important trend is that of Eco-Industrial Parks. Introduced in 1993 the concept has been implemented throughout the U.S. and the world. Eco-Industrial Parks are roughly defined to be "...a community of manufacturing and service businesses seeking enhanced environmental and economic performance through collaboration in managing environmental and resource issues including energy, water, and materials. …"

More information about Eco-Industrial Parks can be found at http://www.indigodev.com/Ecoparks.html and elsewhere on the web.

In a countywide survey citizens of Nelson County overwhelmingly cited the preservation of our rural character as a most important objective for our future. Issues of zoning, industry, subdivisions, natural resources, etc. appear to have now placed us at a critical crossroads. If we have the will we can control our destiny. Doing nothing means that our future will be determined by outside interests and the roll of the dice. The question we must ultimately ask ourselves is "What will improve my life my children's life and what will cause it to degrade? If we all honestly address this question we are likely to find very similar answers.