The vision held by Jefferson Township residents and their officials has remained unchanged through the years. They desire to retain the rural, "Green Community" character that says "Jefferson Township" to this day.

More than 15 years ago, Township leaders realized that achieving the Green Community vision would require exceptional measures since Jefferson Township is adjacent to a rapidly growing major metropolitan area.

They recognized growth would continue to pressure the Township's natural, economic and sociological resources, so they identified a path by which they could implement the growth management principles they desired.

Those principles were, are, and will continue to:

The Township created its own central water and sewer utility system to reduce existing environmental problems and meet the demands caused by growth in central Ohio; the Township also began a land use planning process which was both sensitive to the rights of property owners and to the Green Community vision.

To help articulate the land use vision, the Township engaged the services of Lane Kendig, a land planner recognized nationally for his methods of managing growth in ways that preserve and protect the existing rural landscape and the environmentally important natural areas it contains.

Thirteen years ago, Township stakeholders embraced land use planning and development processes recommended by Lane Kendig.

These same principles are just now being expressed as desirable by numerous Ohioans.

Jefferson Township has for years implemented many of those procedures. A primary tool used by the township is an element of performance zoning -- allowing higher density in less obtrusive areas of a site in exchange for retention of meaningful areas of open space. Our zoning category most popular with the development community requires a minimum of 35 percent open space -- much higher than almost any other community in central Ohio.

Our high development and design standards, used in concert with our willingness to work with developers, has allowed growth to be less intrusive on the existing landscape while keeping service costs down.

Planning and visioning sessions among Township stakeholders help confirm that consensus for our goals is strong and sets the direction for those in charge of service delivery. Our land use map, for example, triggered development of water and sewer master plans and a study/recommendation for fire service infrastructure needs.

The Township vision provides development alternatives to lessen the negative impacts of growth that might be seen in other communities in Ohio.

The decision to allow and provide the tools for development where development must occur due to pressures of growth, while maintaining good growth management practices, has and will continue to work well in Jefferson Township.