Good Dirt

 "The Green Economics of Land Conservation on Aquidneck Island"
By: Ted Clement, Executive Director, Aquidneck Land Trust

Aquidneck Island is a truly special place - with its beaches, working farms and stunning scenic vistas - and the beautiful open spaces that help make it so give us a unique economic advantage as a desirable place to live, work and visit. The Aquidneck Land Trust's ("ALT") mission is to preserve the Island's open spaces and natural character for the lasting benefit of the community. ALT, the only nationally accredited non-profit land trust in Rhode Island, provides lasting green returns to its investors by permanently protecting important open space lands that keep Aquidneck Island a desirable place to live, work and visit.

As noted by Rand Wentworth, President of the national Land Trust Alliance, "Communities that conserve land make an investment in future economic development. Companies frequently relocate where their top talent wants to live, and that is most often in places of natural beauty. When land is protected, the adjacent land often increases in value, with homes selling for 10-20 percent more than comparable homes without access to parks. Frederick Law Olmsted first demonstrated this principle in the late 1800's when he documented that Central Park caused $5.4 million in additional annual tax revenues, quickly repaying the $14 million cost of the park. American consumers seem to have grasped this simple economic principle: A survey by the National Association of Homebuilders concluded that new homebuyers value trails and natural areas above any other amenity. Saving land from development is often the best way to reduce government spending and avoid increases in property taxes. Many jurisdictions believe that they will make money from the property taxes on new subdivisions, ignoring the true cost of schools, roads, police, water, and storm water management. Studies show that it costs between $1.04 and $2 for every dollar of tax revenue to provide services to a typical subdivision, so current taxpayers end up subsidizing outsiders who bring increased traffic, crowded schools, and the loss of the community's individual culture. It is also cheaper to protect clean water at its source than to build expensive water treatment facilities. New York City, for example, saved $5 billion in construction costs by purchasing conservation lands around its reservoirs in the Catskill Mountains."

As an example of the above, last year ALT partnered with an enlightened Town of Portsmouth and Green Valley Country Club to purchase a perpetual Conservation Easement, for $2.56 million, on about 125 acres of Green Valley Country Club. This large property provides public recreational opportunities, scenic vistas and wildlife habitat while also acting as an open space buffer for Lawton Valley Reservoir and St. Mary's Pond, two of Aquidneck Island's public drinking water supplies. An engineer's subdivision plan had demonstrated that the subject 125 +/- acres of Green Valley, which was zoned for 30,000 sq. ft. residential lots, could have supported 127 house lots. Based on the projected costs of municipal services for a 127-lot subdivision, Portsmouth's Town Planner showed that the net present value saved by Portsmouth, over a 30-year period, by keeping Green Valley undeveloped would be over $5.7 million. Another benefit of this conservation transaction was keeping a rein on traffic output. Based on the Trip Generation Handbook, 7th Edition, published by the Institute of Transportation Engineers, a 127-lot residential subdivision on Green Valley would generate over 1,200 additional vehicle trips per day on the already busy and dangerous roadways of Aquidneck Island. Think also of the immense carbon footprint that would result from a 127-lot subdivision.

Recognizing the lasting green economics of land conservation, ALT has launched a new Corporate Membership Program for local businesses that want to help us with our time-sensitive mission of protecting our unique economic advantage, Aquidneck Island's beautiful natural resources and open spaces. Businesses that become ALT Corporate Members share a common vision: preserving the health and beauty of Aquidneck Island for their employees and customers, their families and their community. To join, please contact ALT's Assistant Development Director, Courtney Huth, at 401-849-2799 ext. 19 or chuth@ailt.org. Together, we can create a lasting green legacy that will sustain and benefit our Island for years and years to come.
 

ALT's time-sensitive mission is to conserve Aquidneck Island's open spaces and natural character for the lasting benefit of our community.  The organization has conserved a total of 2,290.57 +/- acres on Aquidneck Island.  ALT is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.  For more information, visit www.AquidneckLandTrust.org.

As always, thank you for your continued support
for conservation on our Island.

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