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<br />1973
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<br />H,1lV,lIrs "QUIET REVOLUTION" I1ITS THE .IIAINI.dND
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<br />Holt! does a lund-lIie pill II work.?
<br />Fir~t, C()lIsiJ~r wh:u h:qlpc.:ns in the
<br />abSt.'flCe of ~uch a pl;.n. Summit
<br />COllJltV, C(J[o., OJ .~cellic ;lrca ot high
<br />~dpine' 11lr.:;1do\\'s ;llld SIlO\\'-c(J\'cr~d
<br />pe:lks 75 mik" west of O<..:I1\,('r, pro-
<br />vides :l cbssic example.
<br />Two years :lgo, SummIt was a
<br />pJswr;:d, Tanchillg-:mu-mining com-
<br />munity of :2665 popubtion. But, IJst
<br />year, cngillLtrs pu,hcJ a [.j,mile.
<br />long il1tcrst:l!C tunnel through a
<br />llloullt:lin, thus putting Summit
<br />Count\' within easv Jriving clist;mce
<br />of De;lvcr-:l1ld iral:slor~,ing the
<br />CQUllty's future. TOJ;lY, Summit is :J.
<br />sl:colld-hume-dc\'eJopcrs' P:lfJdisc, its
<br />roads lined with imitJtion-H:l\'Jri;l11
<br />.!.igns anllCJl1l1cin.[. new "chalet" df-
<br />velopments, its nlount:linsidc' plas-
<br />tered with ski rllns, hoteJ.~ and
<br />condominium ap:utmcnls. The
<br />county's pl"rm:Inent l-XJpubtion has
<br />already d.O\.l;llcd, ;)nd under present
<br />zoning l:lw! it won't have to stop
<br />until it reaches 125,~OO.
<br />BUl ,he basic fact obout all this
<br />growth is that TJobody ill SU111mit
<br />COll1l!.)' has the slightest idell of how
<br />mud, popullltion !he land cl1n take.
<br />ThllS, as with cOllntless other com~
<br />mUllities, Summit Coumy"s future
<br />h:IS been "pi<lllned" fur generations
<br />to come bv a handful of st:ltc bure:Iu~
<br />(r;lts who~e \'isiun :lilt! responsibility
<br />went no Illnher than building a tun-
<br />nel. And though roJ:IY highway
<br />builJers Jre the worst otTcl1ckrs, to
<br />one degree Dr :1llCJther ever,' ~od}' is
<br />doing it: jctport builders, stl :1 com~
<br />panics, shopping-center developers,
<br />clem1 builders Jnd 50 on. As onc pb.n~
<br />
<br />nCT puts It, "Land \.lS\: is c\'crythini;
<br />people do-houses ;Iud airpurtlO,
<br />hospiLtls ;1I1d graveyards. c1ri\"{:.in
<br />t1IC:ltCfS ;lJld halllbmgcr ~rJlll~s. It\;
<br />;Ill illGnitclv imcr:ll.:til1g s\'st-:m, anJ
<br />when you .preo;;s one ;t ;tS buttl,tlS
<br />VOll nevcr k no\\' how many bells
<br />)'Oll'll ring. or when, or whc';c. 'rclu
<br />build ~n olllcc complex ill Ea~l\j]k
<br />;md :\ yea I bter YOll Gnd you.vc
<br />1l1l~hcJ a thousand new toilets in
<br />\Vcstvillc."
<br />L:1lld-usc planning is no more :Ina
<br />no less th.J1l :Ill ~',ttempt Lo ill.ieet
<br />some logic into the Jlattern of where
<br />the bells will ring om] the toilets
<br />Rush. Fur an example of how it
<br />\\:urks, observe Adirondack P:Hk.
<br />the m;lgnificent scmi~wilderness
<br />more thall twice the size of )-'eJlow~
<br />stOllC Park. in the J1orlh(~ast corner
<br />of Nell' lark Stale, In the bIt ",60S.
<br />:m intc;-st3te highway was comp1e[cd
<br />along its e.Jstern edge, Jnd by 1971
<br />the re[,ion was on the brink uf de-
<br />velopr. .ental chaos, wirh seco;ld-
<br />home promoters from all ovcr the
<br />cOlll~~ry converging on th.: largely
<br />ur\zul1ed region. By tncl11sdves, the
<br />fir~t t\\'o major pl:lIlned d~vc.;Jup~
<br />mcllts would have addcd d),ooo
<br />home sites to the e.-:isting 123.000 per~
<br />m;1nent poptlbrio.1.
<br />Uut today ,-he AdLrondacks' stabil-
<br />ity seems :l.Ssurcd. In 1973, the 1"'~w
<br />York legisblurc oppro\'cd a pi"" lor
<br />the rcgion's future growth that is
<br />based on the advice of the bro:ldest
<br />possihle variety of experts: geolo-
<br />gists, fish~al1d-game men, hyd ')10.
<br />gists, agronomists, foresters, urban
<br />planners, etc. A map of toe entire
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