Sprawl's effects creep into county

By: Richard Roth IndeNews April 1 , 2005

HILLSDALE-Residential development costs the taxpayers money. In the Town of Kinderhook, for example, the town spends $1.05 on municipal services for every $1 it collects in residential taxes.
       Commercial and industrial property, on the other hand, costs Kinderhook only 21 cents in services for every dollar paid in; and agricultural property requires a mere 17 cents in town services per dollar in revenue.
       But increased taxes to pay for new schools, new roads and more police and fire protection is only one of the problems brought on by urban sprawl, according to a study released this week by Riverkeeper, Inc. of Garrison. "Under the false guise of economic growth," says the report's executive summary, "careless development is consuming precious resources, disrupting local economies, undermining civic life, and threatening public health."
       The report defines sprawl as "low-density, land consumptive, centerless, auto-oriented development, typically located on the outer suburban fringes." Citizens may not even be aware, it says, that sprawl is the source of many of their problems. Among those problems, according to the report are that sprawl:
       *Increases traffic, air pollution, noise pollution and infrastructure costs while reducing water quality, biodiversity, and open space;
       *Lowers the quality of life by decimating agricultural lands and natural areas; concentrating poverty and accelerating socio-economic decline in cities, towns, and older suburbs;
       *Deteriorates civic life and social fabric.
       The National Trust for Historic Preservation designated the Hudson Valley as one of the country's most endangered historic places in 2000, citing sprawl as the chief culprit.
       The antidote to sprawl is often called "smart growth," which the report defines as "better planning, concentrating development where schools, roads and sewer lines are already in place, and reinvesting in older communities instead of abandoning them." Smart growth communities, it says, not only preserve open space; they are also more livable and attractive than their sprawling counterparts.
       Columbia County has not seen intense development pressures experienced within the New York City metropolitan area, where there's been a 13% population increase and a 60% increase in urbanized land over the past 30 years. But residential development has increased, particularly in Kinderhook, which is within easy commuting distance of the Capital District.
       "Purchase of development rights is very cost-effective for communities, but you have to acknowledge lobbies in each of our communities that work against that," said Kinderhook Planning Board Chairman Ed Simonsen. "It's not just developers. Builders, realtors, banks, car dealers, food sellers-all of them-it's in their best interest to grow the population."
       Like several other towns in Columbia County, Kinderhook has adopted a comprehensive plan; and it has preserved over 800 acres of agricultural land through purchasing development rights or conservation easements.
       The protection of its 2,000-square-mile watershed is of particular concern to New York City residents. The Riverkeeper study finds that the East-of-Hudson watershed, located primarily in northern Westchester and Putnam counties, is the area suffering most from the onslaught of real estate development.
       The greatest threat to the city's water supply is stormwater runoff, which increases dramatically with the increase in impervious surfaces such as buildings, roads, and parking lots. Those surfaces transmit pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, and heavy metals into surface water. Runoff from residential developments can be up to 10 times that of pre-development conditions, and runoff from commercial development can be up to 18 times higher.
       Sprawl-induced air pollution comes primarily from the increase in motor vehicle traffic and the distances it travels. The report says the average American driver now spends 443 hours per year, the equivalent of 55 eight-hour workdays, behind the wheel of his car.
       Sprawl from the metropolitan area has already reached Dutchess County, and towns in southern Columbia are beginning to feel the effects. From 1990 until 2000, population in Dutchess County grew by 7.9%, according to the report. During the same period, the number of housing units, and thus land consumption, grew by 18.46%. The county's population had already increased by 47% between 1960 and 1990, from 176,008 to 259,462.
       Fearing that the sprawl is reaching upward, a resident of the Red Hook School District, which straddles the Dutchess/Columbia line, recently asked the Clermont Town Board to put a moratorium on new residential subdivisions. Each new household, she said, resulted in thousands of dollars in additional costs not covered by taxes.
       The Riverkeeper report, entitled "Pave it.... or Save It? Volume I: The environmental, economic, and social impacts of sprawl," can be downloaded at www.riverkeeper.org. Volume 2 is expected to follow in six to nine months.
       Riverkeeper, Inc. is an advocacy group that monitors the Hudson River ecosystem and challenges polluters, using both legal and grass roots campaigns. It was founded 35 years ago, and more than 50% of its $2 million annual budget comes from individual contributors.
   

©The Independent 2005

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