Notes Column 6 - May 2010

Notes from the County Coordinator - by Jay Miller

Planning to Plan

Pocahontas County does not have a comprehensive plan. In coming weeks, the County Commission may sponsor a citizens’ committee to study issues that could lead to a planning commission to draft a comprehensive plan.  Some West Virginia counties, typically those with larger population centers, already have comprehensive plans which, by law, must be updated by June 2014.  Other counties, especially in rural areas, have never developed comprehensive plans but state law encourages them to do so during the next four years. 

As previously discussed, under WV Code (Section 8A-3), only planning commissions have authority to develop comprehensive plans.  County commissions create planning commissions by adopting ordinances to that effect.  So, if Pocahontas County is ever to develop a comprehensive plan, the county commission must adopt an ordinance as provided in WV Code (Section 8A-2). 

Some believe planning by county government, or even discussing the possibility, is a step toward restricting personal freedom and property rights.  Others think “planning to plan” could be a useful exercise in participatory democracy that would clarify whether - and under what conditions - the county may begin developing a comprehensive plan. 

A comprehensive plan, if properly prepared, provides county government and residents a policy framework of interlocking ideas about how competing forces and interests - personal, political, and economic - should be used positively to shape the future.  Although land use is one subject that must be addressed in a comprehensive plan, zoning is not required and, in any event, would require the county commission to adopt separate ordinances to be implemented. 

If a “planning to plan” committee is formed it may be useful to study issues other than land use first, determining where common ground exists on a range of issues related to community development, before addressing land use - which could end up being a relatively small portion of a comprehensive plan. 

The most important part of a good comprehensive plan is a consensus vision of county residents for what the county should strive to become in the next 20 years and beyond.  But, a vision is not a plan, and a plan is not merely a set of findings and recommendations.  Plans are only as good as the assumptions on which they are built.  Many, if not most, assumptions for a comprehensive plan have little to do with land use.  Take the issues related to the county’s declining population, for example. 

Pocahontas County grew rapidly from about 8,600 residents in 1900 to nearly 15,000 by 1910, and held fairly steady through 1930.  Population declined over the next 30years to about 10,000 in 1960, and stayed above 9,000 through the 2000 census - and then the decline accelerated.  The current census may show about 8,000 residents.  One estimate has the county’s population declining to 7,700 or less by 2020. 

A key assumption in planning for the county’s future must be that population will probably never again be close to 15,000.  But, what assumptions should be made about future population since all other planning assumptions depend on the number of people living in the county and their demographic makeup - young and old, education achievement, median income, mix of poverty and affluence, resident and non-resident, couples with children, etc?
Should the county establish a long-term goal of stabilizing the population before the 2020 or 2030 census?  If so, how should the goal be defined?  Perhaps aging baby-boomers will decide to retire to the county in sufficient numbers to offset the loss of young people and the lack of a job market for entry-level college graduates.  That could stabilize the county’s population but it could also have unintended and socially dysfunctional consequences.  A comprehensive plan could address these issues. 

In recent decades land ownership has become more concentrated by fewer owners, many of whom are aging and putting their holdings under conservation easements.   Many smaller parcels are owned by non-residents who have bid up land prices in recent years.  Land values are so high that, given relatively average income, many young families cannot afford property to start a family farm.  There is nothing inherently wrong with any of these developments but,  taken together, they have the unintended effect of undermining the county’s potential for job creation and economic growth - and the need to stabilize the population with a more natural mix of full-time residents. 


Most recent new construction has been financed by affluent baby boomers who want and can afford Shangri-La hidden in the mountain mists of Pocahontas County.  Taxes from such properties subsidize schools and county services for residents, but because such owners don’t live here, they often bring food with them when they visit and generally do not participate in community life.  A comprehensive plan could acknowledge these issues and suggest ways to mitigate unintended consequences. 

Since World War II, Pocahontas County lost the ability to feed itself from locally grown food and locally raised livestock.  Instead, the county now exports corn and livestock and imports processed food.  The county no longer has a dairy or commercial meat processing facility.  The county’s infrastructure to collect, process, and distribute food within in the county was dismantled and baby steps are underway to rebuild it.  The Local Foods movement is seeking to reverse some of the damage by matching buyers and sellers of foodstuffs, but primarily at the wholesale level.  The Farmers Market is in its infancy and should be encouraged as a outlet for local growers.  A comprehensive plan could suggest the role Local Foods should play in economic development and job creation as a modicum of self-reliance is restored to our food supply. 

Snowshoe is the single largest source of real estate and hotel/motel taxes for county coffers.  These two taxes fund most of county government.  In coming years, declining tax receipts from the Snowshoe area will profoundly affect the county’s ability to provide services in the manner to which residents have become accustomed.  Even when receipts start rising again the structural imbalance between tax receipts and expenditures will remain unless something happens to change the underlying causes.  Perhaps the imbalance is a permanent condition.  In that case, we should plan for the cyclical nature of tax collection and acknowledge the unbalanced nature of who pays for and who benefits from county services.  Perhaps there are alternatives that could be described in the comprehensive plan. 

Speaking of Snowshoe, because there is no elementary school in the area many higher paid employees who work there choose to live in Randolph County and commute.  Recently, residents in the Linwood area started a branch of the county library system which does not rely on county funding.  The hotel/motel tax (collected mostly from the Snowshoe area) supports libraries in the rest of the county, but Linwood pays separately to have a library as a community resource.  The Green Bank/Arbovale area, with the highest concentration of jobs requiring college degrees in the county, succeeds as a community, in part, because they have a library, elementary school, banking services and a grocery store.  Perhaps the county should plan for the same social and economic opportunities in the Snowshoe/Slaty Fork area that are the foundation of community life around Green Bank. 

Pocahontas County must keep its hospital as a key community asset on the order of schools, libraries and parks.  If the hospital closes in the next 10-to-20 years, it would harm the quality of life for many residents and would be a major setback to the county’s sense of community.  But, a hospital depends on having enough people in its service area to justify itself and survive financially.   Population stability is a critical issue for the long-term viability of Pocahontas Memorial Hospital.  A comprehensive plan would address these issues. 

All college graduates living or working in Pocahontas County received their degrees elsewhere.  The lack of post-secondary education opportunities for residents to earn two-year and four-year degrees without leaving the county has been discussed elsewhere and is the subject of the County Commission’s One Room University initiative.  But, even if the demonstration project succeeds starting next year, it will take many years of planning and funding to institutionalize college opportunities in the county.  These issues would be covered by a comprehensive plan.

Banking services are available in Marlinton, Snowshoe/Slaty Fork and the Green Bank/Arbovale area.  Meanwhile, Hillsboro and the Durbin area  go without a banking presence.  Planning could address the need for all regions of the county to have access to banking services beyond access location of an ATM. 

Approximately 3,700 residents are served by the Marlinton post office, but only about 1000 actually live within Marlinton’s town limits.  About 1,700 people use the Hillsboro post office, but only 200 or so live in the town of Hillsboro.  Durbin has fewer than 100 residents, but the post office serves more than 600 people.  While the county’s population is declining, its towns are losing residents even faster.  When they were built years ago, towns reflected economic growth and regional prosperity within the county.  They could afford to build streets, sidewalks, and, provide drinking water and sewer services.  Now, towns have fewer, less affluent residents to maintain or replace aging or dilapidated infrastructure.  What is or should be the future of the county’s remaining towns?  The town of Cass dis-incorporated and became a state park; places like Beard and Watoga exist only in faded photographs and receding memories.  A comprehensive plan could address these issues with the participation of respective mayors. 

One way to increase property values in areas where unused buildings are dilapidated or falling down is to buy up and raze the eyesores.  Experience elsewhere shows that for every $1 spent razing dilapidated buildings (purchased from willing sellers at fair market value), $3 in revenue is received due to rising assessments of nearby property.  No zoning is required and there are no restrictions on land use, yet the neighborhood and county government benefit.  A comprehensive plan could address the pros and cons of this approach.

Less than a sixth of the county’s population now lives in incorporated towns, even though everyone uses the facilities and amenities towns provide.  Yet, some county residents believe towns constrain personal freedom and may be more trouble than they are worth.  They take pride in the fact that Pocahontas County does not have a building code and permits are not required to erect any structure on one’s own land.  But such freedom also allows people to “straight pipe” their sewage into nearby creeks and rivers, polluting the water that is held in common by all.  A comprehensive plan could address the need to manage water resources responsibly and require compliance with modern standards for waste disposal. 

The Public Service District operates in the county’s unincorporated areas. Meanwhile, each town operates a separate sewer system. Marlinton and Hillsboro also provide drinking water. Each has similar problems upgrading aging systems to comply with requirements for sewage treatment and restrictions on effluent discharged to rivers. Looking out 20 years, can the county, including towns, meet the needs of all residents with separate, autonomous sewer and water authorities? Working with the mayors and representatives from the PSD, a comprehensive plan could address whether, or under what conditions, these organizations should be condolidated.


None of the issues described here involves land use issues that require zoning, but they do call for planning to change the status quo.  We all have a rendevous with destiny.  The question IS whether we try to shape the course of events or simply wait to be overtaken by the passage of time.

Jay Miller may be contacted at 304-799-4950 or at  pocahontascoordinator@gmail.com.