Futurewise Works Toward Smart Growth Solutions
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Bellingham Herald Feb, 23, 2008
WHATCOM VIEW
MICHAEL LILLIQUIST / FOR THE BELLINGHAM HERALD
The Whatcom county chapter of Futurewise, a statewide smart-growth and public-interest advocacy group, could not agree more with the recent Bellingham Herald “Our View” editorial that places the pres-ervation of agriculture squarely at the center of the growth debate.
No one likes sprawl. People are increasingly concerned that sprawling expansion erodes a sense of community and quality of life, paves over wilderness, worsens traffic woes, burdens local government services and coffers, contributes to sedentary, unhealthy lifestyles, and locks us into an oil-dependent and pollution-producing way of life. And the research to confirm these fears is stacking up.
But fighting sprawl is not just about people in the city. Fighting sprawl is about preserving our “re-source lands” for agriculture, forestry, and preserving our watersheds for salmon and clean drinking water. Fighting sprawl is also about preserving rural communities and economies.
Land is a finite resource, and rich tillable soil is even more limited. We should not waste this precious resource. Well-managed farmland is not just pretty to look at; it coexists with wildlife and sequesters carbon. Local agriculture provides a cornerstone of our economy, provides jobs, and contributes to the local tax base. And of course, farmland provides us with the food we eat.
Unfortunately, our food supply is increasingly in the path of development. Nationwide, over a million acres of farmland are converted to development uses per year. Eighty-six percent of U.S. fruits and vegetables, and 63 percent of our dairy products, are produced in urban-influenced areas. This means that agricultural lands are threatened with conversion to nonagricultural uses, and production costs are driven up by high land prices. It is not easy for a farmer to turn a profit, and when land prices rise quickly, it pulls the rug out from underneath.
It does not need to be this way. Over the past 20 years, the acreage per person for new housing almost doubled. Worse, since 1994, housing lots of 10 acres and larger have accounted for 55 percent of the land developed. Such low-density development may be appropriate in some locations, but when it threatens productive agricultural land and the rural communities that support agriculture, it is sprawl.
Solutions will not come easy. Rather than putting out fires, Futurewise Whatcom is focused on long-term solutions through changes in land-management policy at the state and local levels. Here in Whatcom County we have promoted stronger critical areas regulations, limiting urban expansion, and advocating for zoning designations that reflect the true resource value of agricultural and rural lands.
All of us, whether we are inside city limits or outside, are fortunate to live in Whatcom County because its beauty and many natural resources. It will take all of us to keep it that way, for us and our grandchildren.