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Spotlight On... Tennessee Growth Readiness ProgramArticle from the National Network Newsletter Spring 2006 issue.
Tennessee communities are growing and prospering in step with others in the Southeast. The pace of development is challenging the capacity of local governments to manage growth in economically and environmentally beneficial ways. Motivated by a growing concern about the health of municipal water sources, the introduction of new stormwater legislation and the enforcement of existing water quality requirements, community leaders are examining land use policies and the relationship between land use and the protection of water quality and water supply. Tennessee Growth Readiness is designed to help these decision makers manage growth and save money while protecting water resources and the quality of life in their communities. The Tennessee Department of Agriculture initiated the Tennessee Growth Readiness program, formulated from best practices including the University of Connecticut’s NEMO program and the Center for Watershed Protection’s Better Site Design principles and processes. Through funding from EPA, the Department made the program available to Tennessee communities, bringing together an excellent team to develop and deliver the program. The team, comprised of the Southeast Watershed Forum, the Tennessee Valley Authority and the University of Tennessee Water Resources Research Center, used insights from pilot communities and participants to craft a program that is fitting for Tennessee and the Southeast. Program results in two short years are impressive. Officials from over 275 of Tennessee’s 480-plus cities and counties have benefited from the program’s training and technical assistance. Officials from nearly 200 of these communities have evaluated their existing development rules against the Center for Watershed Protection’s Model Development Principles. Of these, more than 40 are changing their community’s development rules, including reducing required street widths, clearing the way for developments that preserve open space, establishing aquatic buffers, etc. One participant, Robert Karesh, Williamson County’s Storm Water Coordinator, said of the program, “Tennessee Growth Readiness has given us a systematic way to think beyond traditional engineering approaches to managing stormwater and to work in partnership with our planning department.” The program has benefited from state agency support. State development district directors and state environmental regulatory agency staff promoted program participation. Dan Hawk, Director of the State Local Planning Assistance department said of the program, “My staff serves 212 communities in Tennessee. Since our training, we’ve presented to planning commissions in 45 communities. Also, we’re evaluating zoning, subdivision and site design regulations in 155 of our contract communities. The results are helping us make our work plans for these communities.” Through the efforts of the Southeast Watershed Forum and the Tennessee Valley Authority, other states and communities in the Southeast are benefiting from lessons learned in Tennessee. As part of their Commonwealth Water Education Project, Kentucky’s Division of Water introduced a statewide training program adapted from Tennessee. Georgia’s Department of Community Affairs is piloting program activities in North Georgia as part of their Urban Nonpoint Source Reduction Program. Pilot projects in Southwest Virginia are underway. To help ensure these pilot efforts work in collaboration with existing and developing NEMO programs, the Tennessee Growth Readiness program has helped organize a meeting of the Southern Regional NEMO programs in Pine Mountain, GA this April. |
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