fvbw ufoiA> (/em new* (Jtovrt> 6t)rvvrWtt^vt^S I'O A Guide For New England Community Officials A NEW ENGLAND ------- 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. ------- 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 ------- 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 ------- 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 ------- 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 ------- 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 ------- 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 ------- 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 ------- 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. ------- 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 ------- 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/ 10 ------- 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 11 ------- 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 12 ------- |