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A Guide For
New England
Community Officials
A NEW ENGLAND
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sprawl (sprol) l.To cause to spread out in a strag-
gling or disordered way. 2. Haphazard growth or
extension outward, especially that resulting from
new housing on the outskirts of a city.
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Smart growth recognizes the connections
between development and quality of life. In
general, smart growth invests time, attention and
resources in restoring vitality to center cities and
older suburbs. It ensures that growth in newly
developing areas has a minimum impact on the
environment and local taxes.
Compared to prevailing development patterns
since World War II, smart growth is more town-
centered, transit and pedestrian-oriented, and
has a better mix of housing, commercial and
retail use. It preserves open space and other
natural resources. There is no uone-size-fits-all"
solution.
EPA New England views smart growth as an
efficient way to protect people and the environ-
ment by ensuring clean water, clean air and
clean land, reuse of abandoned industrial sites
and environmental justice for all citizens.
Following are the 10 principles for better land
use adopted by the National Governors'Associa-
tion at their annual summer meeting, 1999.
O Mix land uses
©Take advantage of existing community
assets
© Create a range of housing opportunities
and choices
O Foster "walkable" close-knit neighborhoods
© Promote distinctive, attractive communities
with a strong sense of place, including the
rehabilitation and use of historic buildings
0 Preserve open space, farmland, natural
beauty and critical environmental areas
O Strengthen and encourage growth in
existing communities
0 Provide a variety of transportation choices
© Make development decisions predictable,
fair and cost effective
© Encourage citizen and stakeholder
participation in development decisions
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Growth and Smart Growth are not to be
confused. Smart Growth means healthy and
safe neighborhoods in urban, suburban and
rural areas; protected natural resources and
open space; clean air and water; and equity
and diversity in all communities.
Sprawl or inefficient growth pollutes streams,
rivers, bays, lakes and ponds; encourages
traffic congestion and pollution from vehicles;
devours open space, farmland and habitat for
wildlife; spoils town and city centers; and
lowers quality of life.
To help your community grow smart, set com-
munity goals that guide your growth while they
also:
Protect Natural Resources
Encourage Compact Development
Preserve Community Character
Provide Housing And Transportation
Choices
Engage The Public In Planning And
Decision Making
Fact:
In 50% of New Hampshire communities, 10% or
less of their open space is protected.
-NH's Changing Landscape. Society for the Protection of NH Forests and
the NH Chapter of The Nature Conservancy, Oct. '99
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i Protect drinking water with local
regulations such as aquifer and well-head
protection, flood plain regulation,
limits on impervious surfaces, enhanced
wetland protection, and best management
practices for handling storm water.
Protect plants and animals through
shoreline and stream-side buffers, vernal
pool and surrounding upland protection,
and prioritize open space protection
with wildlife corridors in mind
i Restore damaged ecosystems when new
development comes in. For example,
replant with native species, require zero
runoff, limit asphalt coverage, require
state of the art septic systems
, Dedicate a portion of the community's
annual budget for open space protection/
acquisition
i Protect working farms with agricultural
preservation zoning and tax incentives
i Think beyond town boundaries on a
regional and watershed basis
Provide funding mechanisms for imple-
mentation of town goals such as open
space or drinking water protection
through impact fees, real estate transfer
taxes, water fee set-asides
Fact:
Massachusetts loses 44 acres of woods, forest,
fields or farms to residential, commercial or
industrial development every day.
-Losing Ground, by Jennifer Steel. MA Audubon Society. May V99
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i Promote development that mixes more
than one use per building (e.g.,
commercial and housing, public services
and retail)
Reuse abandoned buildings and sites, and
where appropriate place higher density
housing hear commercial centers and
transit routes, parks, job centers, sewer
and utility lines
Redesign under-utilized shopping areas to
include housing, services, entertainment
and public spaces
Protect open space by making conservation
subdivisions easier to permit, or establish a
purchase of development rights program or
transfer of development rights program
Create neighborhoods, not just subdivisions,
with well-defined centers and edges
i Rehabilitate older schools by eliminating
environmental and health hazards before
building new schools in undeveloped areas.
Hazards include lead paint, pesticides,
asbestos, cleaning products, chemistry lab
chemicals and radon
Channel development to areas with
adequate existing infrastructure (e.g.,
roads, sewer, water)
Plan and build infrastructure in places
where growth should occur (e.g., in exist-
ing town centers) and do not build
infrastructure in areas that warrant
protection
Fact:
Between 1970 and 1995 the number of elementary
and secondary school students in Maine actually
declined by 27,000. Yet from 1975 to 1995 Maine
allocated $727 million to new school construction
and additions.
-The Cost of Sprawl. May'97 ME State Planning Office
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i Craft a master plan and ordinances that
promote the goals of your community with
measurable results and time-lines
i Adopt downtown and main street design
guidelines
i Locate town hall, library, schools, transit
stations and post offices in town center
, Institute an architectural review process
> Insist on pedestrian-scaled buildings
i Integrate housing into town centers (e.g.,
encourage full use of vacant upper stories
including housing or services)
i Ensure that growth does not stress the
community's budget
i Use your town center or main street for
civic celebrations
i Rehabilitate abandoned buildings for town
use
i Protect scenic roads
i Adopt historic district zoning
i Delay demolition, landmark laws
i Protect historic or architectural features
with special permits
i Adopt sign-control ordinances to enhance
the aesthetic appeal of your community
i Prepare an open-space protection plan;
work to implement the plan with local,
regional and state-wide land conservation
partners
Rhode Island has developed land at 9 times the
rate of their population growth.
-The Cost of Sprawl and Urban Decay. Grow Smart RI/00
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i Encourage pedestrian and bike use by
adding street trees, benches, on-street
parking; consolidating curb cuts; adding
cross walks; and enforcing speed limits
i Use "Traffic Calming" techniques
i Keep local roads narrow to control speed/
reduce speed limits and enforce those
limits. Add street trees to slow traffic
, Increase incentives to use public
transportation
i Reduce incentives for single occupancy
vehicles
i Review your community's parking
requirements; consider shared parking
i Design street patterns with multiple
connections and direct routes to spread
traffic
i Incorporate transit-oriented design
features into new development or rede-
velopment
i Encourage a wide range of affordable
housing choices so that seniors, singles,
and young people are not priced
out of their home towns
i Mix housing types to encourage diversity
within neighborhoods
i Achieve, where appropriate, an average
density of 6 to 7 housing units per acre to
make transit possible
i Eliminate or reduce environmental and
health hazards in new housing, in
renovated housing, and in building
maintenance practices
* Enforce environmental and public health
codes such as trash disposal, recycling,
.lead paint removal, and asbestos removal
i Promote home ownership
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i Use a consensus process with a wide
range of community interests to update
your master/comprehensive plan
i Have on board a conservation
commission agent, a planner, a board of
health agent, an environmental
enforcement officer, a certified building
inspector
i Develop an easily understood, coordinated
development process, including
preliminary site plan review meetings
i Adopt growth bylaws such as
designated growth areas
limits on building permits per year
phased growth bylaws
performance-based development
standards and impact fees
service boundaries for sewer and water
that supports the community's vision
and regulations
i Use local regulations to support rather
than detract from local planning goals
i Educate the public about septic system
maintenance, water conservation,
recycling, indoor air quality, lead paint
removal, asbestos removal, radon
detection and healthy ecosystems
i Provide funding mechanisms to implement
town goals
Fact:
From 1981 to 1996, the annual number of miles
driven by each Vermonter increased by an average
of 43%.
-Exploring Sprawl #2
a publication of The Vermont Forum on Sprawl
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Environmental Protection Agency
Alison Walsh - RAA
1 Congress Street, Boston MA 02114
phone 617-918-1593 fax 617-918-1029
Walsh.Alison@epa.gov
Connecticut
James Gibbons and Laurie Giannotti
Cooperative Extension Educators
University of Connecticut Extension Service
1066 Saybrook Road, PO Box 70
Haddam CT 06438
phone 860-345-4511 fax 860-345-3357
jgibbons@canr.uconn.edu
lgiannot@canr.uconn.edu
web site - http://nemo.uconn.edu
Helen Speck
Regional Plan Association, Director CT
Office Two Landmark Square, Suite 108
Stamford CT 06901
phone 203-356-0392 fax 203-356-0392
speck@rpa.org
Rhode Island
Scott Wolf, Executive Director
Grow Smart Rhode Island
345 South Main Street, Providence RI 02903
phone 401-273-5711 fax 401-331-1659
swolf@growsmartri.com
website - http://www.growsmartri.com
Scott Millar
Supervising Environmental Scientist
Department of Environmental Management
235 Promenade Street, Providence RI 02908
phone 401-222-3434 x 4419
smillar@dem.state.ri.us
Massachusetts
Gisela Walker
Extension Educator
Natural Resources and
Environmental Conservation
Department of Landscape Architecture and
Regional Planning
129 Hills N.
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University of Massachusetts
Amherst MA 01003
phone 413-545-2188 fax 413-545-1795
gwalker@umext.umass.edu
Priscilla Geigis
Director, Community Preservation Initiative
MA Executive Office of Environmental Affairs
251 Causeway Street, Suite 900
Boston, MA
phone 617-616-1131
priscilla.geigis-env@state.ma.us
New Hampshire
Kate Hartnett
New Hampshire Comparative Risk Project/
Minimum Impact Dev. Partnership
18 Low Street 2nd floor, Concord N H 03301
phone 603-226-1009 fax 603-226-0042
katehart@tiac.net
Steve Whitman- Principal Planner
Office of State Planning
21/2 Beacon Street, Concord NH 03301
phone 603-271-2155 fax 603-271-1728
s_whitman@osp.state.nh.us
http://www.state.state.nh.us/osp/
Vermont
Beth Humstone, Director
Vermont Forum on Sprawl
110 Main Street Burtington, VT 05401
phone 802-864-6310
sprawlvt@together.net
website - http://www.vtsprawl.org
Gina Campoli - Growth Policy Analyst
Vermont Agency of Natural Resources
103 South Main Street, Waterbury VT 05671
phone 802r241-3618
gina.campoli@anrmail.anr.state.vt.us
Peg Elmer -Director of Planning, AICP
Department of Housing and Community Affairs
National Life Building- drawer 20
Montpellier,VT 05620
phone 802-828-5220 fax 802-828-2928
pelmer@dca.state.vt.us
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Richard Barringer
University of Southern Maine
Muskie School of Public Service
96 Falmouth Street, Portland ME 04104
phone 207-780-4418 fax 207-780-5646
barringr@usm.maine.edu
Judy Cooper
State Planning Office
State House Station 38, Augusta ME 04333
phone 207-287-6417
judy.cooper@state.me.us
http://www.state.me.us/spo
American Farmland Trust
http://www.farmland.org
Antidotes to Sprawl: Federal Contacts to Help
Communities Promote Sustainable Land-Use
http://www.epa.gov/region5/sprawl/index.html
Brookings Institution: Center on Urban and
Metropolitan Policy
http://www.brook.edu/es/urban/urban.htm
Center of Excellence for Sustainable
Development Land Use Planning Introduction
http://sustainable.doe.gov:80/landuse/
luintro.htm
EPA New England Library
http://www.epa.gov/region01/oarm/index.html
Hart Environmental Data: Indicators of
Sustainability
http://www.subjectmatters.com/mdicators/
htmlsrc/aboutindicators.html
LGC Growth Management
http://www.uwex.edu/lgc/growth/growth.htm
Lincoln institute of Land Policy
http://www.lincolninst.edu/main.html -
Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials or
MEMO
.http://www.canr.uconn.edu/ces/nemo/
Sierra Club
http://www.sierraclub.org/transportation/
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Smart Growth Network Homepage
http://smartgrowth.sustainable.org/
index_frameset.html
SPRAwL
http://www.noel.pd.org/topos/sprawl.html
Sprawl Resource Guide
http://www.plannersweb.com/sprawl/
sprawl5.html
Sprawl, Rochester Style (by Mayor William A.
Johnson, Jr.)
htt"p://204.97.3.30:8080/apps/sprawl.nsf
Sprawl Watch Clearinghouse
http://www.sprawlwatch.org.
The Sustainable Development Institute
http://www.susdev.org
Transportation Action Network
http://www.transact.org
Transportation for Livable Communities
Network
http://www.tlcnetwork.org
The Urban Center Publications
http://cua6.csuohio.edu/~ucweb/pubs.htm
The Vermont Forum on Sprawl
http://www.vtsprawl.org/index3.htm
Alternatives to Sprawl (1995)
Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
Cambridge, MA
Changing Places: Rebuilding Community in the
Age of Sprawl (1997)
Richard Moe and Carter Wilkie
Henry Holt & Co., New York
Cityrou'tes Cityrights: Building Livable
Neighborhoods and Environmental Justice by
Fixing Transportation (1998)
Conservation Law Foundation
Boston, MA
Costs of Sprawl: Executive Summary (1974)
Costs of Sprawl: Detailed Cost Analysis
Costs of Sprawl: Literature Review and
Bibliography
Council on Environmental Quality
Washington, DC
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The Geography of Nowhere: The Rise and
Decline of America's Man-Made Landscape
(1993)
James Howard Kunstler
Simon & Schuster, New York
Land Use in America (1996)
Henry L. Diamond and Patrick F. Noonan
Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, Cambridge
MA& Island Press, Washington DC
Why Smart Growth: A Primer (1998)
International City/County Management
Association with Geoff Anderson
ICMA-Smart Growth Network
Washington, DC
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