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i a A POPULATION-ENVIRONMENT BALANCE Q 1325 G STREET. N.W Q SUITE 1003 u WASHINGTON. D.C. 20005 Q 2021879-3000 data Number 24 August 1987 The Myths of Growth America's love affair with growth is succinctly ex- house generates in tax revenue less than 70 per cent of pressed in a quotation attributed to hahn Henry Cardinal the cost of services provided to its occupants by the Newman: "Growth is the only evidence of life:' county. The remaining 30 per cent of the cost is passed When the growth being measured and evaluated is along to other county residents. human population growth within particular geographic Commercial and industrial development often is rec- boundaries, whether those of a nation or a local com- ommended as an antidote to the tax drain created by new munity, a quotation attributed to Aldous Huxley is the housing, because commercial and industrial develop. better guide: "Facts do not cease to exist because they ment generate substantial tax revenue without creating a are ignored:' demand for new schools and certain other public ser- Many myths are being circulated to emphasize the vices. In isolation this is a valid argument, but new com- benefits of local population growth and to downplay the mercial and industrial development tends to attract new benefits of adopting a growth management strategy at the residential development because it creates a demand for community level,a step in local governance which Pop- housing in the vicinity of the workplace. Except in those ulation-Environment Balance recommends as a way to rare circumstances where all new residential develop. reinforce a national population-stabilization policy. ment occurs across local jurisdictional boundaries from Anti-growth management folk wisdom surfaces when- the commercial and industrial development, the result of ever advocates of growth solicit support for their devel- new commercial development also is likely to be a net opment proposals and oppose efforts to control urban loss to the county. sprawl. The frequency and earnestness with which these misconceptions have been repeated has led many people to accept them as being based on fact. In reality, nothing MYTH NO. 2: Growth management programs cause could be farther from the truth than these "myths of land prices to escalate, making private homes more ex- growth." pensive. MY'T'H NO. 1: New development increases a commu- This argument is used to attack the land use regulations nity's tax base,spreads the tax burden among more peo- essential to implement a growth management plan. pie, and lowers everyone's individual tax rates. Overregulation, it is said, adds substantially to the unit cost of new housing because of the additional cost as. This is probably the most common misconception sociated with obtaining permit approval, about development, both residential and commercial. In fact, most growth management programs streamline The case against it is easier to prove for residential de- the permitting process by locating all agencies with velopment, but applies to commercial development as which a developer must deal in one location. The review well, process is expedited, not delayed, and allows conflicts to Several studies have documented the conclusion that be resolved quickly between county agencies and devel- new residential development does not pay its way with opers. No one has ever proven a cause-and-effect rela- respect to the costs of public services and must be sub- tionship between the administrative burden created by a sidized by pre-existing residents through higher taxes. growth management program and higher housing costs The costs of new schools, roads, police and fire protec- for consumers. tion, water and sewer lines and other services far exceed A well-devised growth management program has the the tax income generated by the new housing develop- effect of stabilizing land prices,rather than inflating them, ment. because it eliminates the element of speculation which A recent study of loudoun County, Virginia, Washing- is the driving force behind rising land prices in most ton, D.C:s fastest-growing suburb, revealed that a new urban regions.