Or maybe a UDA. Which stands for Urban Development Area, by the way, even though in a promo photo last week we called it an Urban Density Area.

Funny thing, no one called to point out our boo-boo.

Maybe that’s because many folks think of the state mandated areas to be added to the county’s comprehensive plan as just that, small areas with high density housing.

Because that’s basically what they are. House Bill 3202 states that counties “with a growth rate of 15% or a growth rate of 5% and a population of at least 20,000 are required designate at least one Urban Development Area in the comprehensive plan by 2011.”

These areas are to be designed to accommodate “at least 10 years but no more than 20 years worth of growth based on official estimates and projections of the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service of the University of Virginia or other official government sources.”

That means greater density than currently exists in the county, so perhaps the name should be changed to Urban Density Areas after all!

What is clear is that, whatever the letters stand for, a lot of folks in Goochland would just as soon have nothing to do with the UDA concept.

This became evident at the April 27 meeting at the Centerville Firehouse, where about 75 folks showed up to take part in a forum sponsored by the Partnership for Smarter Growth.

The last of three forums in the Goochland Village Series, the meeting featured a trio of speakers plus an overview of the county’s current comprehensive plan.

While the speakers sought to promote discussion of what villages in Goochland might be like, questions from the audience concentrated on the UDA requirement.

To us, it’s entirely understandable that the General Assembly would want to promote land use planning that maximizes sparse road building dollars. With higher density housing, mixed use zoning and pedestrian friendly design, the UDAs could well attract folks who might like to alight from their vehicles and stroll about shopping areas near where they live and work.

Or not.

Some think the UDA concept a useless exercise for a county like Goochland, which, they believe, attracts residents precisely because it does not resemble the Fan District of Richmond.

And therefore to mandate from the capital how the county should plan to zone its land for the next 20 years seems presumptuous to some, perhaps downright dictatorial to others.

By all means, let Goochland forge ahead with plans for commonsense development of village areas in Centerville and West Creek – maybe even something in the Courthouse area.

But let’s leave it up to the county to decide how to do it.

So to the General Assembly: Make the UDA concept optional. Do it next year.