Planning Commissioner Rick Brownlie, a really terrific guy and one of the bright spots on our planning commission, has initiated a very neat search utilizing the Daily Times: Link...

They want to base their study on one conducted recently from Sevier County (shudder): Link...

“To begin protecting these important resources, one must first identify specific publicly accessible places from which the views of these hillside and ridges are enjoyed. Such places normally include scenic highways, walking trails, scenic lookouts, parks, historic sites and buildings, and canoe and kayak routes.”

So, what views are important to you? Take a few moments and e-mail your thoughts to editor@thedailytimes.com or mail them to Scenic Views, The Daily Times, P.O. Box 9740, Maryville, TN 37803. The suggestions will be provided to the Planning Commission for informational purposes. A top 10 list of most suggested views will be also be published in The Daily Times.

I guess they include these instructions to save "Overlook at Montvale" the ole Ruby Tuesday treatment:

If you have strong feelings about any individual developments in Blount County, feel free to write a letter to the editor.

Just reading the words "Sevier County" in the context of "conservation" makes my blood pressure shoot up:

A guiding principle of the Sevier County study, which can be found online at Link..., was that hillside development should not be completely prohibited. One of the most important recommendations is the principle that all development should be secondary to the surroundings.

I support what they are trying to accomplish. Let's have our own "contest" in parallel. Who wants to start?

This came across my email this morning: The Blount County Planning Commission will hold a called meeting on November 27, 2007 at 5:30 P.M. in the Blount County Courthouse Room 430. The purpose of the meeting is: continue revision of the Policies Plan and other plans for the County.

Copies of the Policies Plan and other plans and various analyses may be viewed at Link... under the Plans section.

Note: If you wanted to provide input, Chairman Scully said last time that if they allowed it, they'd be there all night. So, they didn't allow public input. Unless they do tonight's meeting differently, you'll have to think up a different way of giving your thoughts toward this important planning process.

The county commission will vote on a measure to adopt design and lighting standards within the Zoning Regulations at their meeting tomorrow night at 7 p.m. You can find the proposed changes on the agenda here, starting on page 77: Link... I'll also paste them below.

What do you think of them? I'd especially like to hear the opinions of those of you who keep up with the Dark Skies Initiative and those of you who drive Hwy 411S. Are these regulations sufficient? Are they too much? Are they just right?

Just wanted to get the word out about the following events, swiped from an alert from CAPPE (Citizens Against the Pellissippi Parkway):

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 7pm, Maryville College (location to be announced)

CAPPE is one of several local organizations co-sponsoring a presentation by Gerry Cohn, Southeast States Director for American Farmland Trust (AFT). AFT is a national non-profit organization that has worked for decades to help individuals, communities, organizations and local and state governments develop programs to strengthen and preserve farming and agricultural land.

AFT’s key strategies are:

Transform U.S. farm policy to strengthen the future of American agriculture;
Protect the best land by supporting effective state and local farmland protection initiatives;
Plan for agriculture to keep farming viable and help communities balance growth while protecting working land;
Keep the land healthy and productive by encouraging stewardship practices that safeguard our nation's natural resources.

Gerry will share with us what other communities have done to protect farming and agricultural land. He will help us think about the kinds of programs and initiatives that are appropriate for Blount County . The mission of AFT is to stop the loss of productive farmland and to promote farming practices that lead to a healthy environment.

You can learn more about AFT at Link...

Co-sponsors currently are the Center for Strong Communities at Maryville College , Foothills Land Conservancy, The Raven Society and CAPPE.

OCTOBER 27, 3:30-7pm, 6th Annual Rural Preservation Party & Auction!

Kelmont Farm Barnyard

We’ve moved our signature event to the fall to take advantage of cooler temperatures and harvest themes. We’ll have live music, our famous bake sale, pumpkin painting, an auction, cakewalks, a costume parade and contest, and other activities being planned.

Note: My family attends this every year and wouldn't miss it for the world! Lots of fun.