By Jean McPheeters, Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce
June 4, 2001

I enjoy the process of planning because it's both creative and concrete. The method is similar whether you're planning a dinner party for 12 people, a 3-day conference, or a large fundraising campaign. Your inventiveness is challenged by the requirements to make the end result real, attractive, and ultimately useful. So I was delighted to be asked by the County Planning Department to participate in a Vital Communities workshop last October. Here was an opportunity to think about the future of our county and to grapple with both the realities and the possibilities of geography, water resources, land use, transportation, economic development, housing, and quality of life all at once. Plus, you got to play with maps. Who could resist?

As the president of the Chamber of Commerce, I also welcomed the opportunity to work with others to envision the county's future. Small and large businesses and not-for-profit organizations rely on infrastructure for day-to-day operations such as transporting goods and providing a means for workers and customers to get to their businesses. But the infrastructure is more than the built environment and the services that sustain it. It is also the supporting network of law and regulations such as building codes, zoning regulations, and tax rates. Together these are the bulwarks of stability which businesses and individuals need to make rational economic decisions. As Chamber president I could bring the business viewpoint to the table and to learn what other segments of the community were thinking about these issues.

At the October workshop participants were divided into homogeneous groups of people with backgrounds in areas such as agriculture, construction, community organizing, and economic development. People came from all parts of the county and all sorts of occupations. At the economic development table we agreed rapidly on certain issues such as the need to preserve prime agricultural lands and to increase public access to Cayuga Lake. But we argued about other concerns. The maps showing transportation routes, water resources, and current population density helped us to predict growth patterns and to consider what patterns of land use would best serve the community. We predicted mild economic growth in the central core of the county and in the southern part of the Town of Lansing. We hoped for improved road transportation focussed on Route 13 and we noted the need for sewer development, which would concentrate economic development in set areas. We colored our map and critiqued our own efforts and that of the other groups.

There are, of course, conflicts between development and preservation. Some groups envisioned a future where population was concentrated in the City and Town of Ithaca and fewer people lived in rural areas that would become largely agricultural or forest. Others saw very large growth in housing and in transportation networks. To me both of these scenarios seemed unlikely within the next 50 years given the predicted population growth. But these different visions support the idea that planning is essential. We have the opportunity to plan our future rather than be surprised and unprepared for it. The Vital Communities workshops were an excellent way to voice your opinion and to work with others in a civil and coordinated style.

The Vital Community Steering Committee is working to move this process forward and to ensure that there is community-wide participation. I encourage you to come to a public meeting and let your voice be heard.