rate 147 pictures of different types of landscapes - suburban

exits.

A picture of rolling pastures ringed by maple and oak trees received

the group's highest score. They saved some of their lowest scores for

pictures of the Winfield/Teays Valley exit, with its jumble of gas

Developer John Leslie attended that meeting, but didn't stay for the

of the area, a concept he vigorously opposes.

"There are two schools of thought, and they're not new," Leslie

"One group believes in our freedom to buy, sell and do whatever we need to

do to make a living. The other believes in building only if they approve,

and if it benefits our collective well-being as they see it."

Leslie's family moved to the area from Webster County in 1944. He

remembers when a driver on Teays Valley Road would only see four houses

between Hurricane and the Kanawha River. His high school graduating class

had 28 students. He mourns the loss of the Putnam County of his childhood.

"I tell my kids, I'm sorry they couldn't grow up in the '50s like I

did," Leslie

how it was. How wonderful it was."

His nostalgia for the old Putnam County does not diminish his

enthusiasm for development. The county must grow or die, he

Leslie blames too many regulations for driving Putnam residents to

places like Mason and Jackson counties.

"I've spent time looking at Jackson County myself," he

until U.S. 35 opens up. That's when there will be an exodus."

Zoning regulations that limit the size and number of signs are "silly,"

he

Leslie blamed zoning in general for chasing away several

businesses in Teays Valley. He also criticized plans to force builders to

get their homes inspected and approved by the county before putting them

up for sale.

In Maryland, a developer built two identical houses within a half-mile

of each other, Leslie

One house cost $85,000 more than the other

because that county had imposed "impact fees" on new development, he

That sort of approach will kill growth, he

"Putnam County has enjoyed such nice growth, county officials

are of a mindset that it will go on forever. It won't," Leslie

Loving it to death

County planner Ryan blames congestion and unregulated development, not

zoning, for the county's slowdown in growth. The county did not

implement zoning in Teays Valley until 1995, after traffic on area roads

became snarled and a lot of the land already had been developed.

She says the lack of effective zoning can destroy the beautiful

landscapes and slower lifestyle that drew people to Putnam County in the

first place.

"A lot of times we hear, 'But wait a minute, I moved out here to be

had the same idea."

If county leaders want to save some rural landscapes, Ryan said, they

have two choices: Own it or zone it. They can buy it and preserve it as

parkland, or they can limit land use in order to prevent a repeat of the

Winfield/Teays Valley exit.

"We have to achieve that delicate balance between property rights and

protection of property values," Ryan

Putnam County Commissioner Jim Caruthers wants to use zoning to create

business and industrial sites along the new highway. Without it, the area

will turn into "trailer park city," he

"When Teays Valley developed, a lot of flat fields that would have made

fine industrial sites were turned into subdivisions. We lost a lot of our

potential for attracting companies."

When most people in Putnam County were farmers, Caruthers said, they

would live on the hillsides and ridgetops and preserve the flat land for

crops and livestock. Future generations should learn from those farmers

and live on the hills, he said, and make room for their commercial and

industrial livelihood in the valleys.

"We need to be stingy with our available flat land," Caruthers

"I've got a 20-year-old son I don't want moving to Charlotte. Right now,

our youth can't stay here."

Parts one, two and three of "Valley on the Move" are available on the

Web at www. wvgazette.com.

The county's plans for U.S. 35 and the visual preference survey can be

found at www.putnam county.org/planning/tcsp/in dex.html.

To contact staff writer Scott Finn, use e-mail or call 357-4323.

Putnam County's red-hot growth may be cooling off. According to

a Gazette computer analysis of IRS data, the county gained about half as

many people in 1999 as it did five years earlier.

Other signs point to a slowdown as well. For the first time in a

decade, fewer students enrolled in Putnam County's schools this year. New

building permits last year fell to 1993 levels, according to the Putnam

County Planning Office. The county lost people to Mason, Jackson and

Lincoln counties in the past six years, according to IRS data.

County leaders disagree on what has caused the slowdown, and whether

it's a blessing or a curse.

"We have a great deal of difficulty providing services to the people

who are already here," said Marjorie Ryan, head of Putnam County's

planning office. "We need to get a handle on that before we complain about

Putnam County being on a downward spiral."

Out of room?

In the 1990s, Putnam County gained 9,000 people, the same as if the

population of Dunbar had moved there. According to U.S. Census

estimates, Putnam County had the second-largest population increase

in West Virginia this decade. The population of Putnam County may

But growth in Putnam County seems to be tapering off, and the

area's leaders are wondering why. Some say the area is running out of flat

land, a big draw for families with children.

"People want more space," said Ava Crum, a former Winfield teacher and

a top-selling Putnam County real estate agent. People call her every day

looking for a 15- or 20-acre lot. They don't know that the land for their

hobby farm will cost them $100,000 or more, she

For years, Putnam County offered cheaper new homes than Kanawha County.

Builders had an easier time preparing a home site on flat land, and the

cost of the land itself was lower. But as land prices go up in Putnam

County, developers are building more expensive homes to try to recoup

their investment.

"We're already to the point where Teays Valley is not the place to go

for people who are looking for homes under $100,000," Crum

Some county leaders say Teays Valley is running out of land with easy

access to public sewer and water systems.

In the early 1970s, growth in Teays Valley came to a virtual

halt when state health department officials issued a moratorium on new

construction. They said septic systems were contaminating the area's water

Stotlemeyer.

Developers still can find plenty of land with sewer service available,

he

the slowdown in growth. About 57 percent of Putnam County workers

commute outside the county to their jobs, more than any other county in

the state, according to the state Bureau of Employment.

"I think the cool off has been caused by a weaker economy, and the

transportation bottleneck between Teays Valley and Charleston,"

Stotlemeyer

Gail Vest agrees that Putnam County cannot continue to grow unless the

economies of Charleston, Huntington and the whole region improve. Vest

used to work for the Putnam County Chamber of Commerce and now runs a

regional economic development organization called Advantage Valley.

Vest said the region between Ashland, Ky., and Montgomery, W.Va., had

being shuffled from parts of Advantage Valley into Putnam County, she

The IRS data confirm Vest's instincts. More than 80 percent of Putnam

County's growth between 1994 and 1999 came from Kanawha County.

"I think it's important for Putnam people to realize they can't grow at

another county's expense," Vest

the region is really insignificant as far as economic prosperity goes."

Sen. Oshel Craigo, D-Putnam, would like to see more state development

money spent on his county and the rest of Advantage Valley. The state

attracting and keeping businesses, like the Eastern Panhandle and Putnam

County, he

"I believe you have to provide opportunities to other areas of the

state," Craigo

Grow or die

The building boom in Teays Valley may be nearing its end. County

leaders hope the new four-lane replacement for U.S. 35 will open up land

for development. They will have one more chance to develop a large amount

of land, and to avoid the development mistakes of Teays Valley while

repeating its successes.

In November, a group of Putnam County citizens watched a special slide

rate 147 pictures of different types of landscapes - suburban

exits.

A picture of rolling pastures ringed by maple and oak trees received

the group's highest score. They saved some of their lowest scores for

pictures of the Winfield/Teays Valley exit, with its jumble of gas

Developer John Leslie attended that meeting, but didn't stay for the

of the area, a concept he vigorously opposes.

"There are two schools of thought, and they're not new," Leslie

"One group believes in our freedom to buy, sell and do whatever we need to

do to make a living. The other believes in building only if they approve,

and if it benefits our collective well-being as they see it."

Leslie's family moved to the area from Webster County in 1944. He

remembers when a driver on Teays Valley Road would only see four houses

between Hurricane and the Kanawha River. His high school graduating class

had 28 students. He mourns the loss of the Putnam County of his childhood.

"I tell my kids, I'm sorry they couldn't grow up in the '50s like I

did," Leslie

how it was. How wonderful it was."

His nostalgia for the old Putnam County does not diminish his

enthusiasm for development. The county must grow or die, he

Leslie blames too many regulations for driving Putnam residents to

places like Mason and Jackson counties.

"I've spent time looking at Jackson County myself," he

until U.S. 35 opens up. That's when there will be an exodus."

Zoning regulations that limit the size and number of signs are "silly,"

he

businesses in Teays Valley. He also criticized plans to force builders to

get their homes inspected and approved by the county before putting them

up for sale.

In Maryland, a developer built two identical houses within a half-mile

of each other, Leslie

because that county had imposed "impact fees" on new development, he

That sort of approach will kill growth, he

"Putnam County has enjoyed such nice growth, county officials

are of a mindset that it will go on forever. It won't," Leslie

Loving it to death

County planner Ryan blames congestion and unregulated development, not

zoning, for the county's slowdown in growth. The county did not

implement zoning in Teays Valley until 1995, after traffic on area roads

became snarled and a lot of the land already had been developed.

She says the lack of effective zoning can destroy the beautiful

landscapes and slower lifestyle that drew people to Putnam County in the

first place.

"A lot of times we hear, 'But wait a minute, I moved out here to be

had the same idea."

If county leaders want to save some rural landscapes, Ryan said, they

have two choices: Own it or zone it. They can buy it and preserve it as

parkland, or they can limit land use in order to prevent a repeat of the

Winfield/Teays Valley exit.

"We have to achieve that delicate balance between property rights and

protection of property values," Ryan

Putnam County Commissioner Jim Caruthers wants to use zoning to create

business and industrial sites along the new highway. Without it, the area

will turn into "trailer park city," he

"When Teays Valley developed, a lot of flat fields that would have made

fine industrial sites were turned into subdivisions. We lost a lot of our

potential for attracting companies."

When most people in Putnam County were farmers, Caruthers said, they

would live on the hillsides and ridgetops and preserve the flat land for

crops and livestock. Future generations should learn from those farmers

and live on the hills, he said, and make room for their commercial and

industrial livelihood in the valleys.

"We need to be stingy with our available flat land," Caruthers

"I've got a 20-year-old son I don't want moving to Charlotte. Right now,

our youth can't stay here."

Parts one, two and three of "Valley on the Move" are available on the

Web at www. wvgazette.com.

The county's plans for U.S. 35 and the visual preference survey can be

found at www.putnam county.org/planning/tcsp/in dex.html.

To contact staff writer Scott Finn, use e-mail or call 357-4323.