Moves toward integrated local land-use planning

Àâòîð: Julius Gy.Fabos
Ïåðâîèñòî÷íèê: êíèãà Land-use planning from global to local challenge
Îïóáëèêîâàíà: 1985 Chapman & Hall, ñòð. 223

The town of Ramapo in New York State is of those communities which has initiated a “managed growth program” (Emanuel, 1975). The Ramapo experience started in 1964, with the preparation of a (physical) master plan. After several public hearings and modifications the master plan was approved. In 1967 the Ramapo town board adopted an official map for the town, which was delivered from the master plan, particularly with respect to existing and proposed streets and highways, parks, sewer developments, and drainage ways. These detailed proposals were later incorporated into the town’s capital improvements for the following 12 years. This set of devices ensured the implementation of the necessary infrastructure and open-space system. To guide the implementation of the private development or to ensure a managed growth, the town adopted several zoning amendments, and the issuance of special permits which revolve around a “development point system”.

The elements of the point system, namely sewer drainage, and recreation facilities, road, were principally derived from the scope of the masters plan, official maps and the proposed capital budget. In attempting to arrive at a reasonable point system:

«A series of different overall scoring systems were [developed] and tested to determine the number of lots or building units which would become eligible for approval each year, based upon the projected capital budget and capital plan. These calculations also gave the town a measure of the probably annual rate of land consumption measured against its ultimate capacity.» (Emanuel, 1975, p. 308)

To ensure the presentation of critical and valuable areas for the town as a whole, this growth management was complemented by an open space, to control the rate of development, and to “to enhance the conversation of natural and scenic resources” (Emanuel, 1975, p. 310).

Before the managed growth program, an annual average of 620 units was added to the town, which overloaded many of the public facilities and eliminated many of its valuable critical resources. This new, managed program created an orderly growth, by reducing the annual average growth rate to 350 dwelling units while providing good services and maintaining a quality environment. The Ramapo case proves that one can adapt useful techniques from this impressive list of nonphysical devices. In addition, the planners of Ramapo realized the value of physical planners, whose services they freely employed in preparing the official map, and the proposals for easement acquisition.

Another impressive case study is the community development program of Germantown, Maryland. As in the case of Ramapo, this effort consists of coordinated and positive public land-use planning, capital improvements programming, public land acquisition, and innovative zoning and subdivision controls to encourage the developments of a new community (Black, 1978).

While none of these case studies presented here has been copied extensively, they do however represent significant innovations in adopting nonphysical techniques which use both controls and incentives. They also show evidence of integration of these nonphysical techniques with physical land-use planning. If this trend was to continue, we would witness a more balanced approach to local land-use planning.