Dear Governor...

This letter first appeared in Planning and Action, The Journal of the Center for Community Solutions, Vol. 59 no. 6 September 2006.

Dear Governor,

If you hope to lead Ohio in successfully addressing the host of economic, human—and, yes, environmental—problems facing us, you also need to lead us in land use reform.

Some will ask: Land-use reform? What does land have to do with it?

How we lay out our communities, where we invest our infrastructure dollars, whether we turn farmland into housing and shopping malls—these are choices about how we use our land. And they contribute in a big way to our economic, social, and physical well-being. Here are just a few of the problems that have resulted from our piecemeal planning and short-term vision:

• Deterioration of older towns and cities that once were efficient centers for jobs and housing
• Longer drives to work, shop, play and worship
• Segregation by economic class, which cuts disadvantaged people off from those who could provide jobs, assistance, and motivation
• Vast disparities in the quality of schools due to differences in local tax base and concentrations of poverty
• Entry-level and low-skilled jobs that are located out of reach for anyone who does not already have a car
• Older and disabled people who can’t get to stores, doctor visits, or even senior centers without a ride from someone else
• Taxpayers trapped into paying for ever-wider highways to accommodate more cars and longer trips—while they also pay for other duplicative infrastructure and community services
• Families and children whose lives are scheduled around the travel distance to recreation, educational, and social activities because none of these are within walking distance
• Paving over of farmland, woods, and Ohio’s rich scenic heritage

In short, poor land-use decisions hurt the disadvantaged, tear apart our social fabric, waste our resources, damage our economy, and dirty our air and water.

Despite what some may tell you, all of this does not come about primarily as a result of market forces or the decisions of local governments.

Billions of federal and state dollars have tilted the market and, in the process, altered some of our perceptions about what is desirable. This year marked the 50th anniversary of the start of the interstate highway system, but even earlier post-World War II programs encouraged home building in new suburbs. These programs set in motion changes that led to our development patterns today.

Certainly the opportunity for home ownership for millions of families who in a pre-war era would have rented was good for America. And it would be hard to measure how much of our modern standard of living is due to the web of highways connecting our cities. Yet little did we understand then the mounting impact for good and ill these government funded programs—as designed—would have on our economy, society, and quality of life today.

Today, our state government not only encourages the practice of locating new development farther out, it often requires it. Look at these recent examples:

• Acreage requirements in the Job Ready Sites program that can only be satisfied on the fringes of metropolitan areas
• Standards for school rehab that would force the closure of neighborhood schools and put new schools out of walking distance
• Subsidies for new roads and other infrastructure in greenfields that far outweigh support for maintenance of infrastructure in existing communities

Some of the most egregious of these state requirements have been changed thanks to growing awareness and outcry from citizens, nonprofit organizations, and city officials. But, as governor, you need to take a proactive role. If you want to be the governor who improves our schools, grows our economy, and reduces poverty, you need also to change the way we plan and invest in our land.

The impact on the poor, disadvantaged, and minorities is by now clear. Let me elaborate a little on how this kind of unplanned development hurts our economy. In today’s economy the key natural resource is an educated and creative workforce. Studies by CEOs for Cities, among other organizations, have shown that vibrant, walkable cities with lots of housing choices close to downtown and easy access to parks and natural spaces for recreation are by far the most attractive places for these young, educated workers.

We are coming to realize that quality of city living attracts and retains educated, creative workers, who in turn attract businesses that create jobs.

To improve our economy, we also need to take into account the “other” excess cost of doing business here—the cost of duplicative infrastructure, plus the time and energy cost to businesses, workers, and families, all due to our development patterns.

Greater Ohio has conducted policy forums in most of the metro-areas of the state to gather ideas and sort priorities for the policies that Ohio needs to change. Here are some of the specific things you can do:

• Name a cabinet-level official to identify state policies that influence development and coordinate investment strategies among departments such as transportation and development
• Provide state support for local comprehensive plans and voluntary regional plans
• Establish a “fix-it-first” policy for state transportation investments
• Prioritize sewer and water infrastructure money for older communities
• Coordinate brownfield funding with infrastructure and other investment
• Extend policies now being piloted by the Lake Erie Balanced Growth Initiative—e.g. regional planning and identification of priority development and conservation areas—to the entire state
• Establish common service districts and assign one district to each metro-region
• Expedite foreclosure of abandoned property for reuse

Some of these actions will require legislative action. But it is quite clear that leadership from you, governor, is of paramount importance if we are to make progress. It is crucial that we reverse the trends that not only add to the decline of our cities and the hardship of our poor and disadvantaged, but to the stress and complexity of family life.

Sincerely,
Patricia Carey
Northeast Ohio Director, GREATER OHIO