Twenty is really the acceptable norm for Fort Wayne. That leaves room to grow, he said. It's his impression that a half-hour is about as long as most people are willing to commute. Opponents of freewheeling development say it destroys farmland, wastes gasoline, steals commuters' leisure and even diminishes old-fashioned neighborliness. Someone's always upset by the spread of housing and traffic and look-alike commercial developments into what was once placid farmland.
Farmers complain about maneuvering implements through the speeding tide of commuters' cars.
Folks in a country neighborhood's first subdivision may complain when the second is platted. What may not be as obvious are the benefits of development. First, building homes is big business in Allen County. That doesn't count apartments, offices or stores. Across the country, opponents of growth control argue that it has other benefits, too.