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2004 Smart Growth Summit "Setting the Standard" |
The State of Smart Growth on Long Island
Presentation by Vision Long Island President Ron Stein
Greetings
I welcome you all here today, and hope your morning has been enjoyable and informative.
Last year
Essentially, a year ago today it was clear to many of us that Smart Growth had gotten on the map, and was making some headway. It was also painfully clear that despite some modest victories, the rate of bad development was still thoroughly overwhelming those good efforts and that, in the main, the giving of lip-service to Smart Growth was still the order of the day. A more radical shift needed to occur. We were, and are, running out of time.
We also observed that the environment – via open space preservation
– was very successful, while affordable housing was struggling.
I voiced the concern that we needed to bring our handling of the built
environment up to the par of environmental preservation; that while,
ironically, we were preserving open space on one hand, we were denying
affordable quality housing for our children and seniors on the other
and, instead, allowing standard-issue sprawl to continue its asphalt
march. I stressed that the essential flip-side to preserving open space
should be to improve the built environment, provide the housing and
place-making we need; that we humans, too, could be considered endangered
species given the loss of our youth and seniors and future well-being.
We spoke about needing to have the courage of our convictions. When
it comes to more conventional, single age, single income, cul-de-sac
subdivisions, we needed to “just say no” – we have
enough of those. We need alternatives — mixed-income, pedestrian
friendly communities — if we’re going to keep our kids and
grandparents here.
Last Year’s Challenges
We ended last year with four challenges. We challenged developers to
produce bona-fide Smart Growth/New Urban models. We challenged municipalities
for each town to produce one Smart Growth initiative, whether a mixed-use
regulation, community vision, what have you. We challenged citizen groups
to come to the table proactively, participate in a community planning
effort, and think outside the NIMBY box. And we challenged all of us
to begin to think regionally.
The Good
So how did we do? Well, there’s some good news to report. Developers
are coming to the plate. Witness the new Glen Cove Waterfront Revitalization
project – a comprehensive, pedestrian friendly potential transformation
of one of the most challenged areas of land on Long Island. Or consider
the urban planning and architectural detail of the proposed mixed-use
development called “Old Plainview.” Or consider the mixed-use
planning of the Time Equities development in Freeport, and the live-work
units going up there. Or the proposed Heartland city in Brentwood. Or
the really impressive Arverne-by-the-Sea new urbanist project in Far
Rockaway, among others. These projects may not be perfect examples to
the purists of New Urban/Smart Growth planning, but they’re good
and clearly heading in the right direction.
Several municipalities have also stepped up. The Town of Huntington
has completed its comprehensive community vision and is now about to
embark on a comprehensive plan in alignment with that vision. Brookhaven
has done its corridor studies having just completed another area corridor
visioning in Lake Ronkonkoma, pressed on with its shiny new J6 Mixed
Use Business District Overlay, and passed an environmental bond act.
Southampton is undertaking advanced Smart Growth planning in its downtown.
Oyster Bay’s undertaking its “Next Generation” housing
initiative. Islip, Patchogue, Hempstead, North Hempstead, Babylon are
among other towns and villages moving forward with Smart Growth efforts.
Both Counties produced important open space bond acts, and Suffolk County
has instigated a workforce housing task force that is very, very promising.
Citizen groups – such as the Lake Ronkonkoma Civic Association
and Oyster Bay Main Street Association – were major participants
in community processes. And in terms of regional thinking, the recent
efforts by both County Executives to reinvigorate the regional planning
board are very noteworthy.
I apologize for leaving some off the list.
Suffolk County Open Space as Precedent
I want to step back for a second to the Suffolk County open space legislation.
I think few people realize how groundbreaking this legislation is. Aside
from the fact that it seeks to preserve valuable open space, the real
diamond has to do with its intention to increase density and provide
workforce housing in appropriate locations, like downtowns via transfers
of sewerage development rights. Rigorous design standards have been
promised as well.
While
the amount of housing units to be produced is limited, imagine if all
municipalities incorporated similar initiatives using these open-space-for-density
Transfers of Development Rights (TDRs). Although many of us were concerned
about mixing the two issues in one piece of legislation, this is a brilliant
precedent.
The Bad
But Smart Growth efforts continue to struggle as well. As you all know,
sprawl remains painfully entrenched. Planning departments are still
seeing from developers a flood of conventional subdivision plans on
greenfields as well as big boxes within capture areas of downtowns.
Municipalities have thus far been unable to embrace true Smart Growth
codes with design standards, and have difficulty being proactive in
identifying Smart Growth opportunities in their towns – something
terribly important. Community vision processes are sometimes inadequately
attempted and education of the communities about Smart Growth tools
remains, for the most part, weak. Among residents and most civic groups,
you all know this – “NIMBY Rules.” Finally, regarding
the regional planning council as proposed, with its powers largely advisory,
will it be relevant and effective? If it’s only advisory, some
ask “what’s the point?”
The Ugly
So what’s bogging us down? Well, change is a bear. Everyone: developers,
environmentalists, politicians, planners, residents and businesses –
all instinctively react to change. While planners and developers can
adjust, residents are most fearful. It’s somewhat understandable
– residents have seldom if ever seen change that has been good.
As a result of their resistance, political will crumbles and good change
is stopped in its tracks.
But we make the problems worse by not having good models here to point
to, and not providing enough information to convince them and to help
them overcome their fear of change. Communities are still resistant
to density, yes, but mostly because they lack the information that proves
that — done correctly — density can be a good and necessary
thing. That density can look great and increase property values. Communities
still fear the impacts of development on school-related taxes. And normally
they’re right — most conventional development does negatively
impact school taxes. However, good Smart Growth development usually
improves the fiscal situation for our schools. We need some good models
to show how this works.
To
make matters worse, fearful residents create what we euphemistically
call “reluctant political leadership” (developers call this
something else). Politicians are naturally risk averse. Yet true political
leadership requires transcending this and convincing their constituency
that change – their community’s change — can be —
will be — good. Politicians are exceptionally adept at selling
their message, and they must do this here. Bottom line: we clearly need
more leadership.
Finally,
we still make it too damn hard for developers to do the right thing
and perhaps too easy to do the wrong thing. Towns must find their way
to regulations that enable Smart Growth by whatever means. But to get
to this place, towns need the capacity to do more regarding smart regulations
and long term, strategic planning. Overwhelmed as town planning departments
seem to be, there needs to be a reordering of municipal priorities to
provide the resources needed to help ensure good planning. Heck, several
town and county budgets wouldn’t even permit sending planning
personnel to a major Smart Growth Conference held only 60 miles away
in NYC a couple of years ago. Smart Growth and good planning need resources.
We
must work vigorously to overcome these issues through outreach, education,
leadership, and commitment. We must work to identify common values.
Our leaders must lead. Our planners must plan. Our citizens must learn.
Regional Planning
That said, let me speak briefly about some of the opportunities that
can move us forward this year. First, regional planning is a huge opportunity.
The fact is, given Long Island’s 81 municipal jurisdictions we
can no longer afford the luxury of thinking as small, “me”-oriented
balkanized fiefdoms. We’re all in this together, and we shall
sink or swim as such. We need an entity that can step in regarding developments
of regional impact (DRIs). We need a regional initiative based on common
values and giving people a stake in their future to help put us all
on a coherent path. (Chris Jones, from Regional Plan Association will
be talking about this shortly.)
Corridors
And back to a tune we continue to hum; the big prize, the holy grail
of the transformation of suburbia: The corridors. Vision’s been
talking about this for years. We need affordable, workforce, multi-age
housing. Where can we do it? The corridors. We need to improve traffic
flow. The corridors. We need nodes of development to support transportation.
The corridors. We need compact building design. The corridors. We need
economic development. The corridors. Where can we quickly transform
some of our oldest and ugliest strips and retail centers into gold,
dramatically increasing property values? The corridors.
It’s time to turn some of these underperforming and ugly strips
into high-performing, tax-generating, walkable, attractive communities
and prune back the sprawl in between. These redevelopments can retain
a retail or commercial focus. Sure we can look to Mizner Park, in Boca
Raton, FL, or Eastgate Mall in Chattanooga, TN, (the EPA’s Chris
Forinash will be addressing a Virginia corridor in his workshop later
today), but we can also look to what’s being done right here in
Mastic-Shirley on the Montauk Highway Corridor.
It’s also a relatively non-painful route to take, witness the
Montauk Highway, Middle Island, and Portion Road community workshops.
People loved these events in part because people really disliked the
conditions of their corridors — they’re bad enough that
people are willing to change them. Politically, therefore, they make
sense as a place to start. So why isn’t every town moving on this?
As I’ve said in the past, Long Islanders love their hamlets and
villages. Let’s make some out of the mess of some of our corridors.
Streets
Now a tough subject: How many more pedestrians must die before we start
making our streets safer? When do we say “enough already!”?
It is imperative that each municipality, working closely where appropriate
with the county and/or NYS DOT move forward with safe street design
regulations that also can help beautify our roadways, and perhaps improve
traffic flow. Pedestrians and bicyclists must be given prominence in
the design of our roadways with appropriate crosswalks, sidewalks, bicycle
lanes, buffers, and where appropriate, traffic calming. The regulations
themselves are relatively easy to design, and can include community
process. We appear to have willing county and state agencies at this
point. Whether it’s a young high school star on his bicycle, a
young mother of three, or an elderly grandmother these deaths are tragic
and often avoidable. We can, we must do better.
Other Easy Opportunities
Of course, there are also some relatively easy Smart Growth hits to
consider:
1. Establish mixed use ordinances in existing downtowns
to allow apartments and offices over stores, and enable live-work units
2. Extend open space purchases to infill areas that
need pocket parks
3. Institute rigorous design, size, location and use
standards and limitations for the category killers and, most particularly
Walmart, to protect existing businesses and downtowns
4. Provide incentives and education for green building
for businesses and residents
5. Establish Implementable regulations regarding subdivision and strip development
6. Make a recommitment to waste/resource recycling.
CHALLENGES
So, in customary fashion, I’m going to finish by offering up some
challenges for change. As I said before, we need our own local SG models.
Long Island needs its Kentlands, its Mizner Park, its Mashpee Commons
so we can point to these places and say – “Ya see, it’s
not so bad!”
Municipalities
For Municipalities: We challenge you to engage in a real, honest Smart
Growth self-assessment. Is bad development winning out? If so, why?
What can you do to turn the tables on poor development in your town?
What can you do to transform your corridors? How can you make your regulations
encourage Smart Growth? How can you fast-track Smart Growth development?
Do you have a long-term planning area? Is there a good connection between
buildings, code enforcement, traffic/engineering and planning? Put each
project and process through the lens of good development, and see how
it would need to be different. Figure out why so much conventional,
perhaps “dumb” growth is getting through your departments
and into production, and propose some serious changes.
Planners
have confided in me over the years that Smart Growth is nothing more
than lip service in their town. Our towns must step up and get beyond
that – Smart Growth must become the rule, not the exception. And
it is incumbent upon the elected leaders to provide the leadership within
their departments and their communities.
Developers
For the developers…. we badly need Smart Growth applied to several
uses prevalent here on Long Island. We challenge you to step up to this
cause. First, we need the creation of a residential-oriented project
like Kentlands in MD. A project with pedestrian friendly, interconnected
streets that provides for a mix of incomes and housing types including,
but not limited to single-family and multi-family. A project that provides
housing to serve the needs of the young and old, that offers architecturally
attractive, energy efficient, non-garage-dominated structures.
Next,
we need a retail-oriented Smart Growth project, similar to a Mizner
Park, FL, or Mashpee Commons, MA that perhaps transforms an existing
struggling strip into a bustling downtown-type center with a sense of
place, with a mix of apartments and offices. And finally, we need a
Smart Growth version of a commercial office-oriented development that
includes many of these same Smart Growth principles of walkability and
place-making, like Legacy Center or Addison Circle, near Dallas.
The
bottom line – I say to our developer friends – is that unless
you are building an airport, a skyscraper, a huge big box special district,
a landfill, or heavy industrial center you can build it in a manner
that incorporates some, if not all, of the key Smart Growth principles.
And
for each of you at this conference here today — attorney, planner,
official, activist, whatever your role — think of one act that
you can take to move Smart Growth, livability, and sustainability forward
in some modest way in your world.
Closing
So there you have it. Looking back, hoping forward. We may be behind
some of the rest of the nation in terms of where we are along the Smart
Growth planning path, but after a slow start, things are clearly starting
to move. Let’s not give in to cynicism. Let’s not harp on
failures. Let’s try to move this agenda forward.
It’s not pie-in-the-sky, but rather, tried-and-true. Smart Growth
is important for all the right reasons. And frankly, it’s the
only way we’re going to be able to sustain ourselves going forward.
If we don’t contain and reverse the course of development, we
will be strangled by it. This is about the long term survival of this
region, and the fight is on.
We led the nation in this grand experiment we call suburbia more than
a half century ago. It is high time for the rest of the country to be
able to look to us again for leadership in Smart Growth solutions. We
look forward to that day which should, hopefully, come very soon.
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Vision
Long Island |