Paul Baker, who has been involved in residential development in the county for almost 20 years, is concerned that new ordinances might be unfair or might make it unnecessarily difficult for landowners to exercise their rights to develop property which belongs to them. Development, he believes, is inevitable. Individuals are already on the move in Rockbridge County, making their own efforts to preserve the rural feel of the county one piece of property at a time. Some, like the Welles, have been able to purchase a tract and then arrange for its preservation through a conservation easement attached to the deed. The Welles in effect made a charitable donation of their development rights and received a tax credit.
Easements are in a sense a gift to the community.
Even though the Welles don't farm, they have rented most of the land to a local farmer to keep it in production and preserve it as farmland. There are currently 19 conservation easements in Rockbridge County, involving 13 landowners and protecting 3,109 acres, according to the Virginia Outdoors Foundation, which holds the easements. That's a start, but since conservation easements prevent development of the land permanently, most county landowners are probably not going to take such a step. Others acting on their own initiative, however, include residential developers, who are finding it in their own best interests to do so. They are also contributing to the effort to preserve green space, even as they continue to develop new tracts.