Voters chose the current board last year in an election dominated by growth issues, and now the commissioners are waist-deep in planning initiatives aimed at reducing or controlling growth.

Next year the commissioners will approve a final version of the New Market Region Plan, begin adopting a new countywide comprehensive plan and change the way the county considers land use decisions, said Commissioners President Jan Gardner.

That includes a new way of thinking about transportation. The county will now conduct traffic studies before the commissioners make land use decisions, instead of waiting until specific projects come along to examine the impact of development on roads.

Land use decisions are made during revisions of region plans, which cover thousands of acres and include designations for growth areas. They are also made when property owners appeal for a land use change.

Another initiative that will help control growth is the implementation of stricter standards for the adequate public facilities ordinance, the commissioners said. The ordinance requires developers prove roads, schools and water and sewer services can handle the growth before they are given building approval. The commissioners would also like to add fire and rescue capability to those requirements.

Many of the commissioners' plans have faced opposition from landowners worried about losing value if housing density levels go down, and others, like the New Market Region Plan, have been delayed as the planning commission considers them.

Commissioner John L. Thompson, Jr. said past boards have sponsored narrow land-use initiatives that only favor special interest groups or a single property owner.

"I'll just comment that most of the initiatives that this board in the area of land use ... have been -- whether you agree specifically or not -- they have been for the well-being of the community," Thompson said.

He's spearheaded several of the controversial proposals, aimed at reducing development capacity in resource conservation zones or across large swaths of land in the New Market Region Plan.

The commissioners approved the New Market Region Plan early in their term, and have been waiting for planning commission approval since. They think they can approve it by early next year, however.

"I think it's probably taken us longer than we thought it would, but we've done two rounds of traffic studies and the planning commission has spent more time evaluating it than I think we anticipated as well," Gardner said.

The way they've approached that region plan will likely shape all future planning decisions.

Gardner said that plan was the first one in which the county commissioned a traffic study, and now they intend to have one for all land use decisions.

The county's planning department hired a transportation planner a few months ago. He will work on a computer model that will show the effect of land use decisions on major road networks, and the effect of road network changes on land uses, said county planning director Eric Soter.

"What does an additional 'X' amount of units -- what does that do to a roadway network?" Soter said. "It shows you the changes in level of service."

Commissioner David Gray said that information should be considered before land use decisions are made. He said the commissioners should only consider roads that are likely to be built.

"What you put in the way of development has to be able to be served by those roads," Gray said. "Otherwise you're just setting up for failure. We've got enough going in the way of failure for the roads no. We don't need to add to it."

The commissioners will also delve into updating the county's comprehensive plan, which sets policies and principles of all other land use decisions.

The county's comprehensive plan was last updated in 1998, and it should take about two years to rewrite it, Soter said.

He said the commissioners might reconsider the way they approach the comprehensive plan. They could decide to include a master countywide land use map, or outline procedures about when region plans will be completed.

"It will definitely be an opportunity to implement some new elements, new tools into the planning process," Soter said.

All these changes won't be immediately realized. Soter said today's planning might not show results for another decade.