Agenda - 01-10-1994 - Laserfiche WebLink

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r iWASSOCIATION AMERICAN PLANNING BL1 �/ MARCH 1993 A special edition o,f the !'AS Memo published quarterly and aevoted to public investment and finance • ! • • • • • f • • • • • ! • • { • ! • i • i • • ! • • ! i ! f f ! ! { ! { i ! ! • f ! t • f • { i { f • i f • i i ! • i ! i f Farmland Pays Costs,in which AFT reorganized community records to determine Ift Oven Wary the net effect of each land use.Bef-,re the Massachusetts studies, COCS studies had been done in Dutchess Counn,New Fork, By Mu w Morris in 1989,and in Hebron,Connecticut,in 1986. The findings of COCS studies have been used to dispel The American Farmland Trust(AFT)has published a study that common claims that residential development increases iocal concludes that farmland more than pays its own%-Ay in propem propexry tar,income,that resource conservation is too expensive at taxes.The final report,Doc Farmland Prorecrion Pa)? is a summary the local level,and that farmland does nor contribute signi candy of three cost of community service studies(COCS)in Agawam, to the tax base and is therefore best converted to a different use. Deerfield,and Gill in the pioneer Valley along the Connecticut River in western Massachusetts.The studies provide evidence that, Methodology while private farm and open lands do not generate as much gross The objective of a COCS study is to compare annual income and income as do developed lands,their need for public services is so expenses for four different land uses.As the report sates,"they are minimal that their net efr"ea on the fax base is a surplus. a snapshot in time of costs versus revenues per land parcel."Unlike "Although our research is not meant to show that growth a focal impact analysis,a COOS study does not predict the impact doesn't pay,it does suggest that development options are not of future land uses,'but rather gives public officials the benefit of .always necessary for towns to ensure economic stability,*says Julia a look back at the effects of past actions." Freedeood,author of the report.The northeastern office of AFT The Massachusetts studies began with AFT staff meeting with was hired by the Massachusetts Department of Food and local officials to set goals,explain the limits of the study,and Mc, Agriculture to conduct the study. identify local sources of information."Sponsors"from each AFT developed the COCS technique because rural and community were chosen,such as the manor or planning director, suburban fringe communities often Lack the staff and financial to provide oversight and support for each study. resources necessary to generate data to prove the relative value to the Their first task was to identify the basic land-use categories to community of different types of land uses,particularly farmland. be analyzed.The towns of Deerneld and Agawam used residential, The technique evolved from a 1986 report,Density Relaud PubLc commercial,industrial,and farmlopen land.in Gill,however, PW ._ • r'`!r`Jw` F�� 'tw+ j`�if..i'..•CI.-,sY`. �,f.1.±^ i.. vMl. t s L N