I've said before that, in my opinion, we're lucky in Covington and Newton County, Georgia to have government land use planners, commissions and councils who are concerned with proper, sustainable growth in our city and county. A recent survey by the National Association of Realtors® and Smart Growth America supports what we're doing here in verifying that the American public agrees that growth is good so long as it is "Smart Growth."
High energy costs are making Americans think twice about unrestrained, random development. Overwhelmingly, people want their local governments and developers to plan and make their communities less dependent on cars by rethinking land use and pouring resources into public transportation, according to the survey.
Asked to select the best approach to reducing energy use, more than 80 percent said they favor building communities so that people can walk more, and almost 90 percent favor providing public transportation in the form of rail and buses. Along those same lines, 75 percent say the cure for escalating traffic problems isn't more roads but walkable communities and more transit choices.
We haven't quite reached the population point in Covington and Newton County that will require us to seriously consider the need for a local public transportation system. We are, however a part of the larger Atlanta Metropolitan area with over 17,000 Newton County residents commuting into Atlanta daily. So we should still be concerned when our regional authorities continue to talk about light rail but do nothing... when international business consulting companies tell their clients not to relocate to Atlanta because of the terrible traffic... when over ¼ million of us spend between 2 and 3 hours every day commuting back and forth to work!
But we are getting it right in the other area... land use planning and development!
Our first Traditional Neighborhood Development (TND), Clark's Grove, is now four years old, and still thriving. 
Only two homes remain for sale in Phase I. Construction on Phase II of the neighborhood will begin in late March of this year, adding more commercial space and another 90 homes.
Construction of homes has begun in Dorchester Place, Covington's newest TND, also just a short walk from Covington's historic square. When completed, Dorchester Place will claim 124 homes.
Finally, the Newton County Commission has not only pre-approved, but praised the developer's plans for Mount Pleasant, a new Traditional Neighborhood Development and college community planned to abut the Georgia Perimeter College campus off Georgia Highway 11.
Considering our county's population and the fact that there are currently only some 260 TNDs in the entire U.S., it's pretty amazing - and gratifying - that we have three right here in Covington and Newton County! In Covington, "Smart Growth" is not just a buzzword. It's reality!
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