County growth policy seems to lack plan

Does Jefferson County want growth? What should it look like, and how do we get there?

These questions came to mind a couple weeks back as I listened in on the Jefferson County Commission meeting, hoping to take in public reaction to the county’s new, two-decades-in-the-making growth policy.

This is the first significant revision of the policy since 2003, and it’s a piece of work. I mean that literally: The Planning Department and Planning Board spent 18 months crafting a document that runs to 84 pages.