010703 News Release: Planned Development ct

January 7, 2003

News Release: Planned Development: An answer to Florida's urban sprawl problem

Florida’s population, which totaled 15.6 million people in the year 2000, is projected to swell to 20.7 million by 2025 if current immigration, birth rates, and domestic migration trends continue, according to the Census Bureau. This growth should come as no surprise, since a rapidly expanding population has been a fact of life in Florida for many years. If you lived in Florida in 1950, you had approximately 2.8 million neighbors, less than 20 percent of the number of inhabitants statewide today. If we tighten the focus to the Orlando region, we see a similar scenario. The number of residents grew from around 100,000 in 1900 to more than 1.5 million a hundred years later. This growth is even more dramatic when we consider what didn’t exist for the first 50 years of that decade – air conditioning, jet travel, interstate highways, mosquito control, and most forms of the instant communications that we enjoy today. While this growth has been large in total numbers, the actual compounded population growth rate has been only 2.75%, a rate that will yield 22.5 million people in this region by the end of the next 100 years. The question is not whether this region will grow, but how?

This paper attempts to address the difference between planned developments in areas that currently support agricultural enterprises and "urban sprawl". Unfortunately, the solution of compact growth is far too simplistic. The key to this complicated issue is planned and thoughtful development that provides a mix of land uses in an environmentally sensitive setting. Planned versus unplanned is the answer. We firmly believe that over the coming decades new towns and cities will be developed in order to maintain the quality of life mankind continues to strive for. Mankind has always opened new areas for development. Alarmists claim development outside the boundaries of such cities as Orlando, Florida, (which did not exist little more than 100 years ago) is urban sprawl. All of Florida, and much of the nation, are less then 100 years old. Given the historical population growth rates and reasonable projections, development outside urban areas will undoubtedly occur and should be encouraged as long as the problems of urban sprawl are adequately addressed. What are the problems that urban sprawl creates? According to the Planning Commissioners Journal website, there are seven areas of concern:

              1. Loss of "sense of place"
              2. Land consumption and threat to farmlands
              3. Costs to local government
              4. Our dependence on the automobile
              5. Inner city social impacts
              6. Health impacts
              7. Environmental impacts

The Town of Harmony, a development project between St. Cloud and Melbourne in Osceola County, Florida, has addressed these and other issues. We believe Harmony should serve as a model for development in rural areas. Here is how Harmony has responded to the above concerns:

Loss of "Sense of Place"

Sprawl can turn a special landscape into one that reflects, as author James Howard Kunstler aptly puts it, "the geography of nowhere." Sprawl destroys the unique character of urban and rural areas and can create miles of undifferentiated new development.

Harmony’s Response: The Town of Harmony, with its unique design and regional character, will provide a well-defined "sense of place". The master-planned, mixed-use development will not only be unique and different in character but will be a truly original development. When you enter the Town of Harmony, you will instantly realize you have entered a planned development that is different and has a strong "sense of place" by design. The centerpiece of the town will be Harmony Square Park with retail, office, and residential units surrounding the square. We are truly developing a town for people to live, work and play.

Land Consumption and Threat to Farmland

The agricultural landscape around most of our cities and towns is being converted to development at an accelerating rate. Farmland is being lost as subdivisions and malls with large parking lots are built. Asphalt is replacing topsoil.

Harmony’s Response: Harmony has pledged to keep 70% of the development site as "open space." The open space which includes two large lakes, protected wetlands, meadows, and forests will also be used for cattle and hay, which is the historical use of the property. In addition, we will build a small animal barn, horse barns, and have community vegetable gardens for the enjoyment of all Harmony residents. Harmony planners have specifically attempted to match residential unit counts with what we believe is needed to create jobs, shopping, recreational amenities, and other needs for the Harmony community itself. The goal is to become a sustainable town, not just a regional shopping area. This approach, in combination with short distances to services and amenities, minimizes large paved parking areas.

Costs to Local Government

Urban sprawl is a burden on local government because it forces limited resources to be allocated to the creation of new infrastructure rather than to maintaining existing infrastructure. As sprawl encourages populations to move outside of older established communities, the tax base of these communities is diminished, requiring a reduction of services to the remaining population. Ironically, many state and local government policies actually end up subsidizing a sprawl pattern of development.

Harmony’s Response: Harmony has financed and paid for all infrastructures within its site. No county funds are being used for roads, drainage, water, wastewater, irrigation, parks, etc. In fact, Harmony is providing all roadways to the local government without cost to the county, and Harmony has donated over 70 acres to the county school district for the development of a new high school. The value of that donation and a pedestrian walkway to the school is estimated to be in excess of $5 million. Additionally, our residents will pay significant impact fees to both the county and the school district. The Harmony community will be a significant net financial gain for all of the residents of our county.

Increased Auto Dependence and Fuel Consumption

Sprawl isolates different land uses and causes increased reliance on the automobile. People commute greater distances to work or travel greater distances to shop. The present trend is not sustainable, as highways become clogged with traffic and energy consumption increases.

Harmony’s Response: Harmony is providing a network of sidewalks, cart paths, bikeways and other pedestrian accessways. Before the first house is completed, more than three miles of sidewalks are being installed. This is just the start of an extensive system of alternative transportation at Harmony. By planning a mixture of land uses, automobile trips will be minimized. Children will be able to walk to school, and a grocery store will be within walking distance. The Harmony community is expected to employ at least 400 people from its early stages. Harmony hopes that more than half its homeowners will be employed within walking distance of their jobs.

The Inner City (Social Impacts)

Sprawl can have a devastating impact on the poor and racial minorities who are often concentrated in inner city neighborhoods. Not only does sprawl lead to the dispersal of job opportunities, but it absorbs large amounts of government spending (on new infrastructure) that might otherwise be used to deal with inner city problems. In addition, sprawl may well sharpen racial segregation within metropolitan areas.

Harmony’s Response: Harmony has committed to set aside 20% of housing for affordable applicants. In addition, the philosophy of equal opportunity will be incorporated throughout the community. There will be no economic or other forms of segregation within individual neighborhoods. Since we do not have government subsidiaries and will, in fact, create surpluses for local government, inner city resources will not be impacted.

Health Impacts

The health impacts of sprawl have gained recent attention. Just as architects have come to recognize that the design and construction of buildings can affect our health, researchers are starting to examine how a sprawl pattern of development can affect our well being. At the same time, researchers have begun to document the correlation between a dispersed pattern of development and increased injuries to pedestrians.

Harmony’s Response: The key reason for the Harmony Development itself is to promote the health values between human’s relationship with nature and domestic animals. The development plan calls for pet parks and miles or acres of unspoiled nature. The Harmony Institute, dedicated to promoting those beneficial relationships, will be located at our Town Square. The Town of Harmony will be a model for human health; its plan is designed to reduce stress levels rather than increase them.

Problems: Environmental Impacts

A sprawl pattern of development leads to loss of wildlife habitat and increases hazards to public safety. Wetlands and other natural resources are put at risk by increased land consumption for roads and housing development. Light pollution is one of the least discussed but most significant environmental consequences of sprawl. As metropolitan areas continue to expand dramatically, so does urban sky glow, which obscures the stars and other celestial objects. Because the loss of the dark night sky occurs gradually over many years, it’s a problem that often goes unnoticed.

Harmony’s Response: Harmony has been designed and is committed to protecting all of the natural resources contained within the community. Wildlife corridors and parks around the lakes rather than homesites are an essential part of that plan. Harmony is also the largest community in the United States known to require both Energy Star homes and Dark Sky Lighting throughout the community.

OUR CONCLUSION

The Town of Harmony has incorporated, within its master-planned design, a series of components to create a strong and distinct community while demonstrating environmental stewardship. Examples of Harmony’s plan include:

              70% of land left as undeveloped open space
              100% Dark Sky public lighting throughout the community
              100% Energy Star Homes
              100% gasoline engine-free watercraft on its lakes
              No houses built on the lakes
              Pet parks
              Extensive park amenities including pocket parks, neighborhood
              parks and lakefront amenities
              No houses on Golf Preserve
              100% education availability on site (K-12)
              Conservation Land Manager
              Conservation Land Trust
              Environmental educational programs
              Support of non-profit charities and organizations
              Live/work planning principles

Harmony does not claim to possess all of the answers to the population growth challenges facing Florida. However, we believe that planned communities and towns similar to this development will have a positive effect on the future – and on the undeniable growth -- of our state.