State, County and Township planners, engineers and officials are focused on development. However, the Greene County public’s #1 goal is to preserve natural resources, the beauty of our land and the aesthetics and ambiance associated with our communities have become the beacons that have drawn people to Greene County.

While smart and strategic development is a goal, it should be limited (except in exceptional circumstances) to places where there are already roads and utilities and where services and supplies are available. This will allow the rural portions of the county to retain a rural character and lifestyle that is enjoyed by all.

New roads should not be constructed if at all possible. They have an outsized disruptive influence on our communities and natural resources and people’s enjoyment of them. Traffic noise from a new road disrupts both wildlife habitat and human enjoyment far beyond the physical boundary of the road. It disrupts and restricts wildlife movement and brings trash and chemicals to otherwise pristine areas. And in a time of ever increasing property taxes, new roads bring construction and endless maintenance costs to residents.

The proposed Valley-Bell Connector Road is a perfect example of a road that should not be built for the following reasons. Make your voice heard by township, county and regional planners and engineers!

• The proposed Valley-Bell connector road is near the Greene County Airport between Valley Road and Indian Ripple Road. The road is unnecessary since it will only reduce an approximately 4 minute commute to a 2 minute commute.
• The connector will bring increased and heavier traffic off of Hwy 35 into both pristine habitats and residential neighborhoods.
• The road will cost County and Beavercreek township citizens approximately $4M or more (estimated from average rural road construction costs, length of the road and floodplain engineering).
• Greene County already paid the owners of Spring Valley Farms $1.1M to NOT build roads near this area in 2016.
• The road traverses a significant floodplain area which will result in increased construction and long term maintenance costs.
• The road will adversely impact some of the rare, sensitive and precious 2000 acres of remaining wetlands in Greene County and the unique wildlife it contains.
• Valley Road already exists and can serve as the end of the North/South “corridor” at the end of the Trebein/Hwy-35 intersection. It can be made more efficient at a MUCH lower cost than building a new connector road and traffic currently flows to the the large and established Upper Bellbrook Road.
• Beavercreek Township's proposed Fire Station 66 is planned to be built at the Greene County Airport. This location is far away from almost all of their calls for emergency service, is dependent on the construction of this new road, and effectively "hides" the millions of dollars in road construction costs they will be demanding from the County after the station's completion.

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