No matter what happens at the Wilmington Air Park, the Clinton County townships bordering Warren County are projected to grow in the long-term because they are on the “growing edge” of the Cincinnati and Dayton metropolitan areas, said Clinton County Regional Planning Commission Executive Director Chris Schock.

A comprehensive plan for Adams, Chester and Vernon townships, including the village of Clarksville, recently was released. A comprehensive plan, in brief, is a blueprint for a community’s future, particularly when it comes to land use.

In projecting long-term future growth in the three “gateway townships,” the document is forecasting the continuation of an existing trend.

In the 1990s, according to U.S. Census data, Adams, Chester and Vernon townships saw large to moderate increases in population — 19 percent, 48 percent and 43 percent, respectively. Chester and Vernon townships easily outpaced the county’s growth in the decade of the 1990s: Clinton County as a whole experienced an approximate 14 percent increase in population in those years.

As time moves on, Schock anticipates the three townships will take on an increasingly “exurban” character and perhaps even suburban. For example, a resident of Chester Township can be in Mason or Lebanon in about 20 minutes, he pointed out.

“Exurban” is a term to describe a residential area geographically beyond the suburbs but nonetheless an area experiencing notable residential growth, such that it’s not quite rural but neither is it suburban, Schock explained.

“To me, exurban is kind of what Clinton County is. Our interaction and connection with greater Cincinnati makes us exurban,” Schock told the News Journal. By “interaction,” Schock is referring to Clinton County residents commuting to jobs in Hamilton County. Other than Clinton County, more Clinton Countians work in Hamilton County than any other county, including Warren or Montgomery counties, he said.

The four “growth nodes” in Clinton County, according to Schock, are Chester Township, the U.S. Route 68 and I-71 interchange area, Blanchester/Marion Township and Wilmington/Union Township.

Accordingly, a central thrust of the comprehensive plan concerns how best to manage the growth likely to come in Chester and the other gateway townships.

A key in promoting smart growth and avoiding haphazard growth is to have development, whether residential or commercial, take place in concentrated clusters, Schock said.

Cluster development makes services such as public utilities more feasible.

Also, development should occur where the roadways can handle the increased traffic, said Schock. He noted there are some residential subdivisions in Warren County off narrow roads.

In the case of Clinton County’s western border townships, areas more suitable for higher density development include State Route 380, the State Route 73 and I-71 interchange and along major roads, Schock said.

In targeting areas for development, the comprehensive plan utilized soil analysis and avoided targeting development upon soil that’s prime for farming, said Schock, in order to protect agriculture’s future in those townships.

The population projections in the comprehensive plan foresees Adams Township growing by 17 percent by 2030, Chester Township by 33 percent, Vernon Township by 26 percent and the village of Clarksville by 3 percent.

The document included data regarding mobile homes. In Adams Township, 17 percent of the housing stock is mobile homes. In Chester Township, 10 percent of the housing stock is mobile homes. In Vernon Township, 23 percent of the housing stock is mobile homes. In Clarksville, 14.7 percent of the housing stock is mobile homes.

The rate of home ownership in Adams Township, Chester Township, Vernon Township and Clarksville is 87 percent, 89 percent, 86.1 percent and 71.7 percent, respectively. The township numbers are all well above Clinton County as a whole, which stands at 69 percent.

From 2000 to 2007, there were 360 new single-family houses constructed in the three townships.

According to the Clinton County Health Department, there are no serious water quality issues for wells drilled in the three townships, although iron and other minerals contribute to the hardness of local water.