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| navigate: home: magazine: fall 2003: article | |
| Smart strategies for smart growth By Karen Tuohey Wing | ||||||
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As population sprawls into Pennsylvania’s rural farmlands, precious acres are being gobbled up by developers for private homes on two- to four-acre lots. The result is more than just additional traffic congestion and less picturesque views; urban sprawl is having a negative economic impact on the business of agriculture, Pennsylvania’s number one industry, employing almost 800,000 people and contributing $44 million to its economy. There also is the cost of urban sprawl. For every one dollar housing brings in, it requires $1.25 in spending for infrastructure like water, sewer and roads, as well as services like schools, police and firefighters. Compare that to the costs associated with farmland (nine cents an acre) or industry, which costs even less. To address some of these issues and in an effort to preserve farmland and wooded areas, Penn State Cooperative Extension offices are working in Berks and Westmoreland counties to instill smart growth planning strategies. In their common purpose, the Berks and Westmoreland Cooperative Extension agents have pursued different paths, both with successful outcomes that have had an impact in eastern and western Pennsylvania. BERKS COUNTY
Once known as the breadbasket for Philadelphia and southeast Pennsylvania due to its prolific wheat farm industry, Berks County has become a prime location for urban sprawl. Agriculture is still the area’s largest industry, and one in every five Berks County jobs depends on agriculture production, the farm supply and the processing and distribution segments: the food and fiber industry.
Clyde Myers, Cooperative Extension agent in Berks County, is trying to help landowners and municipalities use the many laws available for the protection of the agriculture industry. In cooperation with the Berks County Agricultural Land Preservation Board, Berks County Planning Commission, Home Builders Association and Farm Bureau, the Chamber of Commerce, local landowners and farmers, Myers has been working for land preservation and efficient land use. Working with these groups, the county’s 2020 plan recognizes production agriculture as a major land use and designates vast areas for farming.
“For years, Clyde has been a leader in providing education on farmland preservation to Berks County residents and beyond,” Frederick W. Davis, regional director for the Southeast Region of Cooperative Extension and Outreach, said. “It is partly due to his early recognition of the problem and his willingness to educate farmers and local politicians about solutions that Berks County now stands as one of the top counties in their preservation efforts.”
“The results of our efforts have been very positive—33,130 acres preserved through the purchase of farmland easements and 133,275 acres in ‘Effective Agriculture Preservation Zoning’,” Myers said. “To preserve the land base essential for production agriculture, these are the only two ways to ensure saving a food and fiber industry similar to what exists today.”
“Berks County ranks 90th in the nation and third in Pennsylvania in market value of agriculture products sold, with sales of $247.8 million,” he said. “For agriculture to be successful today, farms need to be larger, which means more animals and more acres.”
Without adequate space, conflicts between farmers and residential home-owners arise around the issues of odor, pests, traffic, pesticide use and noise. One of the solutions in Berks County has been the implementation of an Agricultural Zoning Incentive Program that has been adopted by many municipalities. It is flexible enough to allow for some rural residential development using a sliding scale, while protecting large tracts of land for agricultural use.
“Adopting the Agricultural Zoning Incentive Program recognizes that agriculture is a main activity in that area of the township and gives the community a means to provide for it,” Myers said. “It has really had a very positive effect.”
He also has relied on education to help Berks citizens find their own way.
“It’s unbelievable to see local landowners, farmers and planning commissioners come together to write their own zoning ordinances. It’s quite an education for them, but it has worked very well,” Myers said. WESTMORELAND COUNTY
In western Pennsylvania, a unique alliance has formed between the University of Pittsburgh and Penn State around the concept of community development that uses the principles of smart growth: mixed land use, involved citizens, sustainable development, in short, all of the things that make small-town America a desirable place to live.
Because sprawl is a complex issue, the Smart Growth Partnership of Westmoreland County, a nonprofit organization housed at the University of Pittsburgh’s Greensburg campus, and Penn State Cooperative Extension have combined resources to jointly hire an educator to work with the community on issues related to economic development, quality of life and preservation of natural and historic resources.
“This has been the marriage of two great institutions around a common interest,” Gary Sheppard, county extension director for Westmoreland County Cooperative Extension, said. “Through this partnership, we share a concern for each other’s futures, and we’ve both created new allies in furthering our respective missions. The Smart Growth Partnership has also opened up doors for us to reach people we don’t normally interact with, and that’s been very valuable.”
Alex Graziani, executive director of the Smart Growth Partnership and a member of the American Institute of Certified Planners, said, “This connects two of the state’s largest institutions in a unique way and, for us, it’s a great opportunity to work with Penn State Cooperative Extension. Their experience and reputation in this county have given us a lot of credibility to discuss these issues, as well as the ability to extend information into the community through the educational outreach initiative.”
Last August, Anita Nichols joined Penn State as the jointly funded Cooperative Extension agent charged with developing the educational program. To date, her efforts have focused on helping provide educational outreach and technical assistance for schools, local municipalities, the public at large and developers. This past spring, she and the Smart Growth Partnership organized a bus tour of Allegheny County developments that showed the principles of smart growth in action. Almost 50 Westmoreland County community leaders and political officials attended.
“We are encouraging planning to improve the quality of life for residents and preserving the land for future generations,” Nichols said. “Open space, sprawl and farmland preservation are big issues in this area, and I will be providing visioning workshops to help people look toward the future.”
“We use the power of persuasion and encouragement to get people to do things differently,” Graziani said. “The pattern of growth in this area has been highly consumptive, but not sustainable. Right now, there are significant policy guiding documents in development that will help decide the future of land decisions in this county. Will they be prosprawl or infill? It’s really up to the county to decide. We’re just there to help guide and inform the process.”
For more information on smart growth and its 10 principles, visit http://www.smartgrowthpa.org/. | |||||
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