Laserfiche WebLink
Comprehensive Plan <br />December 11, 1995 <br />Page 3 <br />III. What Are the Costs Associated With Development? <br />Attached to this memo are summaries from reports along with articles that <br />discuss the costs and revenues associated with development. The following <br />sources of information are included for the Council's review: <br />• Executive Summary - A summary of a report by Resource Management <br />Consultants, Inc., entitled: "Development in Wright County - The <br />Revenue/Cost Relationship"; <br />• Article by Lee Ronning of the Land Stewardship Project - "Farm Land's <br />Top Yield Isn't Residential Taxes"; <br />• Excerpt from a report by the Environmental Quality Board, entitled: "A <br />Question of Balance and Managing Growth in the Environment"; <br />• Excerpt from a book by Randall Arendt, entitled: " Rural By Design"; <br />• An Executive Summary along with Impact Analysis for each zoning <br />district from a study done by the City of Lakeville, entitled: "Growth <br />Management Strategies for the City of Lakeville". <br />In summarizing these articles, the following points should be highlighted: <br />• The costs of growth for low density development are higher than growth <br />at a higher density. <br />• Quote: "It is fiscally sound to concentrate growth around areas with <br />existing infrastructure and discourage growth on large lots and farming <br />areas. <br />• Relatively high density development close to existing urban infrastructure <br />provides less expense locally and to the state over the long term. <br />Residential projects that consume large amounts of land often costs <br />communities more than they give back in property taxes. <br />• The small clusters of one and two acre residential lots interspersed with <br />agricultural areas have contributed to uncontrolled development and <br />imposes a significant financial and environmental problem for Otsego. <br />• Large lot residential zoning, often enacted by communities that would like <br />to preserve open space such as wood land and farm land is to a large part <br />responsible for the high levels of land consumption experienced by <br />communities. <br />s:council:Complan <br />