Supporters stress quality-of-life issues

Smart growth needs a business-government partnership, an HBA official said.
By ROGER G. SMITH
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
When you complain about sitting in traffic in the crowded retail strips of Boardman or Niles, you're often complaining about sprawl.
When you complain about your taxes just about everywhere, you're often complaining about sprawl.
It's with those pocketbook and quality-of-life issues where Greater Ohio hopes to make its case for change.
The nonprofit group is out to change state policy it says promotes sprawl. The group will push for what it calls pro-development policies, which supporters refer to as smart growth.
Sprawl in Ohio comes with economic and social costs, said David Beach. He is executive director of EcoCity Cleveland, a nonprofit planning organization, and a Greater Ohio steering committee member.
Fast-growing communities are spending more and more to pay for growth without the tax money to sustain it, Beach said.
Indeed, a Vindicator analysis last year found that trend in Mahoning Valley suburbs. The analysis showed suburbs considered financially healthy were spending money faster over a five-year period than they were collecting in taxes. Those suburbs pointed to capital costs of expansion, such as roads and water and sewer lines, for the spending.
Quality of life
Beyond dollars, Beach pointed to sprawling development patterns that create concerns from environmental to family:
Sprawl creates traffic congestion. That increases air pollution and slows the daily commute. More time in the car means more stress and less family time. More space between neighbors and neighborhoods ultimately means a loss in the sense of community.
"That's distorting family life. There's a sense that things are sort of out of control," Beach said. "We can't afford the way things are going. We can't afford it economically or socially."
Beach said people understand his group's anti-sprawl, smart-growth message when he puts it those terms.
"When I explain it to people they say 'Finally, we're doing something about it,'" he said.
Lacking state policies makes it hard for local governments to control and pay for what amounts to sprawl, said Larry Long. He is executive director of the County Commissioners Association of Ohio and a Greater Ohio steering committee member.
Cost to taxpayers
Local governments -- taxpayers -- often are left to pay the costs when developers exercise their rights to build where they want, he said. That comes in forms such as paying for wider roads, water and sewer pipes, new schools and more, he said.
"The general taxpayer ends up subsidizing that," Long said. "There are amazing consequences in what the taxpayer pays."
The question is who pays for the consequences of development, Long said. The prevailing thought is that those creating new development should pay a larger proportion of the costs, he said. Right now, taxpayers bear much of the burden, Long said.
Opposing view
Vincent J. Squillace, a Youngstown native and executive vice president of the Ohio Home Builders Association, disputes that characterization.
Most development today is privately funded, he said. Developers are paying their share when they do suburban projects, he said, pointing to higher taxes in such growth spots. He called calculations to the contrary "voodoo math."
"I just don't buy that argument," Squillace said.
The concept of redeveloping existing communities already gets more than its share of tax dollars, he said. State and local governments pour millions of dollars a year into downtowns and inner cities around Ohio, he said. He pointed to projects in Cleveland and Youngstown.
"How many public dollars have been spent in Austintown and Poland?" Squillace asked. "I think that's a phony argument."
The state doesn't need more policy directed at redevelopment, he said.
Home builders and others in the industry aren't anti-urban, Squillace said. He pointed to Cleveland, where, he said, the private sector has built hundreds of homes in recent years.
Support within industry
Not all home builders and those in the industry oppose smart-growth approaches, said David Bohardt. He is executive director of the Home Builders Association of Dayton and the Miami Valley and a Greater Ohio steering committee member.
For example, redeveloping housing in cities creates business for his clients, he said.
One thing everyone in Ohio agrees on is that growth is lagging and needs improvement, he said.
The key will be for business and government to form a partnership that provides good schools, safe neighborhoods and low taxes so developers can meet smart-growth goals, he said.
"My hope is that we'll be able to make a contribution to that dialogue," Bohardt said.