FEATURE ARTICLE

At first blush, this article appears to be yet another one of those planning articles that you pick up from time to time. But, is it?

This article addresses smart growth, an issue not covered in great detail in park publications and a planning strategy that can make a significant impact in your community. Oh, by the way, there is a quiz at the end.

The smart growth agenda only recently has entered the mainstream on the municipal side and is not yet on the radar screen of elected park board officials and staff. Typically, municipal and county officials have handled issues of urban planning. So why should park professionals concern themselves with planning issues?

Some of your colleagues across the state have made strides that are dramatically affecting quality of life throughout the state. And the genesis of these projects is more in urban planning than in park design. There is significant opportunity to make a greater impact in your community utilizing smart growth ideas.

About that quiz: don't worry. It will only take two minutes and you don't need a pencil.

Smart Growth Defined

"Smart growth" is defined generally as development that is focused on areas where infrastructure already exists. These areas often lack adequate open space. Goals for smart growth include:

• preserving open space;

• minimizing the need for new infrastructure by encouraging "infill development," which is development that occurs in an area or lot (generally an acre or two in size) that is already surrounded by development. It is that vacant lot or rundown building that is razed;

• improving the livability of communities;

• encouraging the use of alternative modes of transportation;

• encouraging land-use decisions that concentrate on development to minimize reliance on automobiles; and

• promoting development in close proximity to mass transit.

Providing sufficient accessible open space and recreational facilities are critical components for the success of smart growth and efforts to curb urban sprawl. Park districts, forest preserve districts and park departments can improve the quality of life and bring excitement to areas where smart growth is desired. These agencies also should become more proficient in identifying opportunities in areas where future development is expected in order to preserve sites before they are devel-

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FEATURE ARTICLE

An Excerpt From "Why Smart Growth?' In communities across the nation, there is a growing concern that current development patterns—dominated by what some call "sprawl"—are no longer in the long-term interest of our cities, existing suburbs, small towns, rural communities, or wilderness areas. Though supportive of growth, communities are questioning the economic costs of abandoning infrastructure in the city, only to rebuild it further out. They are questioning the social costs of the mismatch between new employment locations in the suburbs and the available work-force in the city. They are questioning the wisdom of abandoning "brownfields" in older communities, eating up the open space and prime agricultural lands at the suburban fringe, and polluting the air of an entire region by driving farther to get places. Spurring the "smart growth" movement are demographic shifts, a strong environmental ethic, increased fiscal concerns, and more nuanced views of growth. The result is both a new demand and a new opportunity for smart growth. Smart growth recognizes connections between development and quality of life. It leverages new growth to improve the community. The features that distinguish smart growth in a community vary from place to place. In general, smart growth invests time, attention, and resources in restoring community and vitality to center cities and older suburbs. New smart growth is more town-centered, is transit and pedestrian oriented, and has a greater mix of housing, commercial and retail uses. It also preserves open space and many other environmental amenities. But there is no "one-size-fits-all" solution. Successful communities do tend to have one thing in common—a vision of where they want to go and of what things they value in their community—and their plans for development reflect these values. • —Text from executive summary of Why Smart Growth: A Primer, reprinted with permission granted by the International City/County Management Association, www.icma.org

oped for other uses.

Park districts can achieve smart growth goals through cooperation with local municipalities and other public agencies. For example, park districts can prepare system-wide open space plans and work with municipalities to adopt such plans or include open space elements in municipal comprehensive plans. Park districts can also be given a role in evaluating the open space elements of site plans for public facilities and residential subdivisions.

Such cooperative planning can pay substantial dividends. Through cooperative efforts, park districts and municipalities can identify potential open space sites that might otherwise be missed. Municipalities can construct a system of trails for biking and walking that provide alternatives to vehicular transportation as well as links from homes to businesses and public facilities. Municipalities can pass development ordinances giving park districts the benefit of land/cash donations when subdivisions are approved.

Park districts should amend local official maps to statutorily identify parcels in town that may be subdivided in the future. The one-year sign-off provision could yield needed park acreage or tens of thousands of dollars.

Park districts should use the planning process to think creatively about the resources and opportunities available to meet their current and future needs. Creative solutions to meeting open space needs might include multiple-use facilities used for both park and municipal purposes, jointly used public/private facilities such as school, church yards or playgrounds, and the use of nontraditional spaces such as the weekend use of commuter and commercial lots for recreational purposes.

Smart Growth at Work in Illinois

Some examples of park districts and local governments that have used this type of creative planning for open space follow.

• Scores of park districts throughout Illinois fund bike path construction on an annual basis. The Fox River Trail is a success story of intergovernmental cooperation on a project that is enjoyed by 10,000 to 15,000 users per day. The use of the bicycle for routine travel is now commonplace in Batavia, St. Charles, Geneva and other Kane County towns. The Dundee Township Park District and Rolling Meadows Park District have extensive trail systems that have been constructed using grant money identified for trail development, thus encouraging the use of alternate modes of transportation.

• In Schiller Park, Ill., the village was concerned about an unsightly parking lot in the village center. The unkempt lot was used only partially by the nearby factory, but it was seen by local residents on a daily basis. Mayor Anna Montana arranged for the purchase of the lot and created a centrally located park. Clocktower Park has become a successful symbol of the village's commitment to its residents to provide a more livable community, creating new open space in place of an unsightly and under-utilized parking lot.

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SMART GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES

PHOTOS: (Above Left) Once the parking lot of a local buiness, Clocktower Park now provides residents of Schiller Park, Ill., with an eye-pleasing and centrally located community park. © TD&A. (Right) Senka Park in Chicago illustrates how school and park facilities can be united to meet commhnity open space needs. © TD&A. (Left) The plan for Tipton Pak in Bloomington runs storm-water overland instead of in traditional concrete pipes, removing pollutants and harmful fertilizers prior to entering the storm-water system. The park also will provide important trail links and recreational amenities. © TD&A.

• The city of Bloomington completed an open space master plan in 1996. When local resident Mrs. Tipton learned of the plan that identified the municipal need for park land in her area of town, she gifted 50 acres to the city and sold the balance to a local developer. The ensuing residential site plan called for the use of "green engineering." Drainage occurs in backyard swales with all the storm-water running through strategically located wetlands. When completed, Tipton Park will provide important storm-water management and water quality functions while serving as a 50-acre park providing active and passive amenities. Sound planning resulted in a generous gift, infrastructure was minimized, open space was preserved and the creative storm-water management solution will become a model for future development in the area.

• The Deerfield Park District has followed a longstanding public practice of putting several of its tennis courts on top of municipal water storage tanks. This partnership with the village of Deerfield allows Mitchell Park to serve both recreational and water utility needs. Although many have used water tanks in other manners in the past, this solution remains a creative way to avoid using additional land for infrastructure and improves the livability of the community.

• The Chicago Park District collaborated with the Chicago Public Schools to create a renewed Senka Park; a school/park campus developed on a former rail yard. Trains and power lines once crisscrossed the site that is now enjoyed by kids of all ages. The Chicago Park District also is creating additional green space by working with the Chicago Department of Transportation to remove streets to connect park sites at Dvorak and La Follette parks with neighboring schools. These three projects create new green space and improve the livability of Chicago.

• The mixed-use plan for the redevelopment of the Glenview Naval Air Station sets aside fully 42 percent of the site for open space and recreational uses. It is now home to the Glenview Park District's new 165,000-square-foot Community Recreational Center. This forward-thinking project resulted in significant open space and recreation opportunities in a previously built-out community.

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SPECIAL FOCUS

States such as Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, New York, Minnesota and Kentucky have enacted smart growth legislation that provides a clear direction for development.

Funding Smart Growth

Illinois and other states are funding grant programs and exploring a variety of other mechanisms to assist park districts in planning for and developing parks, open space and recreational facilities as critical elements in their overall effort to encourage smart growth. States such as Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, New York, Minnesota and Kentucky have enacted smart growth legislation that provides a clear direction for development. These states also have established grant programs to support the creation of local land-use plans. Many of these grant programs are focused specifically on planning for open space, recreation and natural open resource protection.

Illinois has recognized the importance of planning for open space, recreation and natural resources in its efforts to encourage smart growth. Existing state grant programs dedicated for open space allocate approximately $60 million per year to local governments, park districts, forest preserves, conservation districts and other agencies. In addition, the state legislature is currently considering the Illinois Land Preservation Initiative (ILP) bill that will authorize a statewide referendum for a .2 percent sales tax to fund a grant program for park and open space preservation. See the ILP side-bar below.

Smart Incentives

Smart growth initiatives provide the incentives for creative planning, coordination of efforts between agencies and jurisdictions, and technical assistance. These initiatives also provide funding mechanisms that can help park districts and open space providers achieve their historic missions and benefit their residents.

As you can see from the above examples, smart growth isn't just about minimizing reliance upon the automobile. There are many other ways to mitigate the effects of sprawl. Park boards, typically silent on issues of development in their communities, can take positions on local developments that will affect quality of life. Take a stand on development that chews-up important open space without significant contribution to the open space inventory, and encourage zoning changes. If you aren't already, become an advocate for a precious natural resource: open space.

Now, here's the "quiz."

Shut the door, take two minutes and ask yourself what is going on in your community that might benefit from your leadership and smart growth knowledge. Could a pending development be changed for the better if you get involved? Does your municipality share your concern for open space preservation?

I bet there is a way for you to make a difference. This kind of thought and planning is what it takes for communities to grow smart. •

PETER T. DYKE
is president of Thompson Dyke & Associates. TD&A or Northbrook and Chicago is a landscape architecture firm specializing in park design, open space master planning, aquatic center design, native landscape design, and construction phase services.

References "2001 State and Federal Funding Sources for Parks, Recreation, Conservation Lands & Facilities." Illinois Parks & Recreation. January/February 2001, p. 38-9 "Campaign For Sensible Growth." Ideas@work. Volume # 1, February 2001 "Financing for the Future: The Economic Benefits of Parks and Open Space." Government Finance Review. December 2000, p. 23-6 Laura Ross with Charles Schraeder and Associates.

Illinois Land Preservation Initiative (ILF) The Illinois legislature is currently considering the Illinois Land Preservation Initiative or ILP (HB 2054), which calls for a referendum on a statewide sales tax of 2/10 of one percent to fund grants agencies for land acquisition, restoration, and development. The grants would be available to local governments, park districts, forest preserve districts, and state agencies. Authorized for 20 years, ILP would raise annual sums starting at approximately $232 million with the first grants awarded in 2003. Other states across the country are taking action to protect their remaining open space. The National Land Trust Alliance calculates that 175 of 208 referenda on open space were approved in the year 2000, dedicating approximately 7.5 billion dollars in public funds to fund open-space projects. For more information about ILP, see the public policy section of the IAPD Web site, www.ILparks.org. • — by Peter T. Dyke

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