4.1. SR 03-31-1997 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Ways to Selectively Influence Growth G. Curli~ ~Brat~come The concept of "se}ective growth" sug- gests that you can fine tune a local economy. I disagree. My thesis is that the local economy is like the national econ- omy and is not susceptible to fine tuning. You can do some things to heat up the eton- om); but you cannot predetermine how "hot" it is going to become. You can do some things to oool down the economy, but you cannot predetermine how cold it is going to get. Playing the growth/no-growth game is like playing Russian roulette. You never knew when you are going to shoot yourself in the · head. Growth takes on a life of its own, and developers often do not recognize when the cycle is over. Overbuilding results, and you end up with the Denver experience of this de- cade-millions of square feet of "see through" office buildings. Conversely, if a community has the reputation of being a no- growth area and then changes its mind, the courting of the development community is a long and hard process. The growth/no-growth choice is a political one, and either choice requires political sup- port if it is to be maintained. Political support for either position may change significantly based on the economy. ~]~A local government that cares to influence what haffens in its community still has a powerful tool to use in its zoning pourers. I~ Local governments may be able to influ- ence growth, but they cannot control growth. It cannot be turned on and off like a spigot. Regional and national economies have tre- mendous influence on what happens in local development--probably more influence than local government policies have. G. Curtis Branscomc is city manager of Decatur. Georgia. Another valid generalization is that growth and development do not reduce the local tax burden. Obviously, putting a large General Motors plant in a small city makes a differ- ence. In general, however, densely developed communities have significant tax burdens. More services may be generated, and they may be more sophisticated services than be- fore local growth, but you usually do not find lower taxes. The city of Decatur tries to use an eco- nomic development program to selectively in- fluence growth in the city. The program's six elements include available land, adequate in- frastructure, attractive business and develop- ment environment, skilled labor supply, re- duction of front-end costs and risks, and- provision of capital at reasonable cost. Available Land It is fairly obvious that if you want growth and development to occur, you have to have land available for it. This may appear to be an uncontrollable element. You either have land or you do not. It is difficult to create new land and hard to make it disappear. There are ways to control the availability of land. The adoption and enforcement of flood plain ordinances reduce available land in the flood plains. The acquisition of land for parks and open space reduces the land avail- able for development. A few years ago, there was discussion of residential development of a fairly steep hillside above a flood plain, devel- opment that the city determined was not de- sirable. Fortunately, the city was able to buy the property at a reasonable price and desig- nate it as open space. Purchase of land is the ultimate in land use control, but it usually is too expensive an option for a local govern- ment. The best way that local government has to influence the availability of land is through zoning. Decatur's selective growth strategy is based on a firm commitment to the preserva- tion of its residential neighborhoods and a 6 PM August 1988