This column addresses Principle 4, “Protect natural resources, green spaces, and recreational resources,” and is written by Sharon Anderson, Vital Communities Steering Committee member, Watershed Steward for the Cayuga Lake Watershed Network and resident of the Town of Lansing.

An adage states, “If you keep doing what you’ve done, you’ll keep getting what you’ve got.”  In Tompkins County that could mean loss of farms, eroded soil clogging our streams and lake, a lower water table, and increased time spent in cars. The Vital Communities Steering Committee, with significant public input, created a set of draft Development and Preservation Principles to articulate what residents would prefer in their future.  As the Cayuga Lake Watershed Steward, I find Principle 4 particularly compelling because of beautiful Cayuga Lake and the many spectacular waterfalls and gorges in Tompkins County. 

Development choices that increase traffic congestion, threaten agriculture and reduce our sense of community can also threaten the area’s natural beauty. Our tendency in the last fifty years has been to spread out, creating new housing developments with large lawns, wide roads and long driveways that are a long way from where we work and shop. These development patterns, and the resulting proliferation of roads and parking lots, negatively impact our natural environment and reduce the quality and quantity of our water supplies. While we have known for awhile that excess industrial discharge can have adverse environmental impacts, we are starting to pay more attention to the environmental effects of small amounts of accumulated pollution, called nonpoint source pollution.  We are also gaining a better understanding of the relationship between growth patterns and nonpoint source pollution and how growth patterns impact our water resources.

When development moves away from established centers, new construction of roofs, roads and parking lots can fragment our natural landscapes of forests, wetlands and meadows. These hard surfaces that are impervious to water accumulate nonpoint source pollution (such as petroleum products on roadways or pesticides or herbicides sprayed on bushes and trees) that is then swept away by rain.  This rain and nonpoint source pollution flows directly into our creeks and streams and eventually into the lake. The water moves too quickly to be filtered of pollutants naturally and too quickly to replenish our ground water resources, which provide drinking water to nearly half the residents of Tompkins County. Carefully planned development can reduce these concerns.

Residential development that is compact or clustered can reduce impervious surfaces and increase the amount of land left in a natural state, without reducing the number of housing units. Typically this type of development has shorter roads and driveways, sometimes even shared driveways, that require less paved surface.  The resulting open areas let nature do its job of filtering pollutants from water and letting more rain seep back into the soil. Furthermore, areas of cluster development that are served by municipal sewer or water use less pipe, reducing the costs of providing these services by as much as $800 per house. 

These are just a few examples of how small choices add up to make a difference.  The “tool box” will have many other ideas of how we can practically apply the Development and Preservation Principles and move towards our desired future. As citizens and elected officials better understand the relationships between development patterns, quality of life and the environment, we can find ways to support the diverse goals of economic vitality, human health and protection of our irreplaceable natural environment.  I urge you to learn more about and support the Vital Communities Initiative and the draft Development and Preservation Principles.