A lot of towns near Boston have done some pretty underhanded things to prevent growth, particularly to prevent growth in the non-insanely-rich segments of society. Typically they begin with a “our natural resources can’t sustain this” or “our budget can’t sustain this” kind of thing. Then they either zone for big lots and enormous houses, keeping the mix rich, or they zone for tiny condos, to keep out families, so that they can keep their class sizes small.

The state actually had to pass a law stating that if less than 10 percent of the housing stock was affordable (typically, that meant a family of four on sixty grand or less per annum) that developers could appeal to waive all the zoning laws if they built a certain amount of affordable housing.

Lesson: there are worse things than growth. People like to live in Albemarle county… so, let’s make sure the growth is well-planned, and not haphazard, and not managed in a way that distorts the character of the county.