The Invisible Hand Gets a Slap on the Wrist

As one may have noticed from the nature of my blog I possess a variety of planning interests. But two of my key interests, nay obsessions, are zoning and the market, ie how do planning decisions play out in the real world? (I am also a closet theory fanatic too and economics enthusiast, even if I don't always understand what's being said)

So, imagine my surprise and delight when Planetizen showed this story-

http://jacksonville.com/news/metro/2011-01-20/story/jacksonville-planners-eye-new-rules-discourage-urban-sprawl

Apparently, Los Angeles isn't the only one who is taking a good long look at what their zoning says and what they want it to say, and more importantly, do.

http://cityplanning.lacity.org/PressRelease/MythsNFacts.pdf

If you don't have time to read the article, I've pulled out the most salient points. Jacksonville is abolishing what they refer to as concurrency, in which "developers are assessed a fee based on transportation improvements their project may require, whether or not those improvements are ever made. . .

Under the current system, developers pay when their new houses, strip malls or other projects are expected to lead to more people using local roads than those roads are designed to support. Using a complicated formula, the city figures out how much of the cost of improving that road is the fair share that the developer should pay.

Once the congested road is widened, though, another developer that comes would end up paying much less than the first developer because that project doesn’t require more work to be done.

“Some property owners end up being asked to pay more than their property is worth while a guy a mile away is paying almost nothing,” said T.R. Hainline, a land-use attorney who chaired the committee that worked on the mobility plan."

- from " Jacksonville Planners Eye New Rules to Discourage Urban Sprawl" by Timothy J. Gibbons. The fee doesn't having any "teeth" as we call it. Developer A has to shoulder the brunt of the fees while Developers B, C, and D trot behind on the already paved path. Think older sibling isn't allowed to see PG-13 movies until they are 13 while kid brother (or sister) is taken to R rated movies at age 10 without any lobbying, just a smug grin as they walk into the darkened theater knowing what they're getting away with.

From now on Jacksonville will utilize their "new system [which] divides the city into five areas, from downtown to rural, and then into zones. Developers pay a fee based on which zone their project is in and can get credits for doing things that reduce trips, such as locating offices by stores or on a bus route. . . Instead of having to wait until a project is completed and asking the city to figure out its fair-share payment, Killingsworth said, developers can figure out the fee up front by looking at the project’s zone and how many trips it will create." (Gibbons)

I'm all about the "invisible hand" letting things go their way as socialism has a far from truly successful track record of implementation. But to let things go any which way in the built environment, according to the whims of the latest financially solvent developer, is a recipe for disaster.

Granted, we didn't have the foresight to predict how big of an impact auto-dependency and building in greenfields instead of working what we already have. Manifest destiny man! *best spoken as the Big Lebowski's "the Dude"*

An interesting theory, but horrible ramifications, especially for several generations down the line. My parents always told me that actions have consequences, often after I decked my younger brother. And while my relationship with my sibling is much healthier, our relationship with our cars is slowly becoming toxic.

But until there is policy written to mitigate or even transform our behavior we'll keep shouting Manifest Destiny! While the cost of food and gas steadily and stealthily increase around us. (supply and demand at its down and dirtiest- the less there is of a resource, the higher the cost. This is fine when it comes to things few of us can afford, like a $100K+ Ferrari. Not so great when your loaf of bread costs $5 and your gas is $7.50/gal)

While it isn't ideal, we have to hit developers where it hurts- in the pocketbook. Until they all become altruistic and want to build infill, for now it's easier to build out and that system can't self sustain itself forever. Therefore, sometimes that invisible hand needs a slap on the wrist so that it can steer in the right direction.