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Comprehensive Plan December 11, 1995 Page 4 • Studies have shown that the net public cost resulting from low density or "sprawl" development are considerably greater than those resulting from higher density or "cluster" development for the same number of dwelling units. Put simply, it costs more to run school buses and emergency vehicles, to repair roads, and to collect garbage when homes are spread out over more miles of roads than when houses are located more closely together as in a typical 19th century town. • For every $1.00 of revenue collected from: - residential land, $1.25 is spent on services; - industrial and commercial land, $.19 is spent on services. • The net public costs were approximately three times higher ($2,200.00 per unit) where the density was one unit per 5 acres than where the density was 4.5 units per acre ($700.00 per unit). • Lower valued homes tend to have a negative fiscal impact. • Higher valued homes tend to have a positive fiscal impact. • The higher the density of housing the more return; however, there are diminishing returns, after a certain point, in market value and density. • Twin homes, quads, townhomes and high value homes provide the best fiscal investments in housing. • Scattered development puts an enormous strain on the City's operating capital budgets and negatively impacts commercial areas trying to establish service areas. If the City Council is interested in reading any of these reports in their entirety, I'll be happy to provide the Council a complete copy of those reports. IV. What Type of Development Guidelines Will There Be For Property Within The Urban Service Area? One of the fundamental elements of the Comprehensive Plan is to manage growth in an orderly manner and to encourage growth from the central city outward. In order to allow this growth to occur along with the extension of utilities, certain growth control policies will have to be adopted for property within the urban service area to allow the efficient extension of utilities. Although no specific guidelines have been adopted at this time, future ordinances will have to address the minimum lot size which property can be subdivided without water and sewer. For example, it may be determined that the minimum lot size prior to receiving water and sewer will be 10 acres. Generally speaking, the larger the lot sizes, the greater the flexibility s:council:Complan