The Lafayette County Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission should be commended for sponsoring the development of a Comprehensive Plan to provide a framework to address the future growth of Lafayette County. The draft plan (all 113 pages) is available on the county website PDF. There will be a public meeting to discuss the plan at 6pm on Friday in the Chancery Building. I would encourage anyone who is concerned about -- recent conflicts between residential neighborhoods and commercial development, preservation of open space, traffic congestion vs walkability in the city, the future of small communities, the success of Oxford's new transit system, sustainability of our automobile-dependent lifestyle in the face of fuel price hikes and infrastructure crunches -- to attend, listen and comment on the plan.
One of the things that I love about Oxford, is the fact that I can get on my bike, ride about ten minutes in any direction and be in the country. Over the years I have gotten to know many of the country roads on rides named for smaller communities like Abbeville, Taylor, Paris and Tula. Back in Oxford it's an easy walk from campus to the Square and then to shops, restaurants and the farmers market. There aren't many towns like it in the country. Oxford's historic but vibrant downtown, tree-lined streets, and friendly neighborhoods and of course the University pack so much to do into such a small footprint. The fact that the lakes, the rolling hills, the National Forest land and just plain open country are there just beyond the edge of town completes the package.
In contrast, many of towns and cities where I grew up have gradually decayed from the center as downtowns languished and rings of suburbs grew like mushrooms. Many of those industrial cities of the upper midwest saw their populations peak decades ago. Discussions going on this week may be crucial for the long term prospects for the future of Lafayette County that many have grown up with and that I have come to cherish over the last ten years.
Although the plan does not prescribe a definite course of action, by my reading it is largely based on the standard formulation of suburban development that have dominated this country over the last 30 years. OBJECTIVE 2-1 is "To manage Lafayette County's rapid growth in such a way that the rural/suburban atmosphere is maintained."
The classic American suburb has fallen on tough times. Hit hard by the housing bubble and compounded by the recent spike in gas prices, outlying suburbs have seen the largest declines in home prices. Our dependence on the federal government to continue to subsidize highway building is also threatened by fuel tax shortfalls and the push by our current Federal Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters, to shift the burden of highway construction costs to local governments or directly to drivers with "pay as you drive" funding mechanisms. It would be prudent to consider this changing landscape in a long term county plan.
An alternative to the standard pattern of suburban growth is the establishment of an Urban Growth Boundary (UGB). seeks to provide a distinct boundary between city development and undeveloped farms and forests. The Portland Metro UGB was established over 20 years ago, initially to preserve farm and forest land. Portland is regularly cited as one of the most "livable" cities in the country and has been relatively immune to recent housing price declines seen across the US.
In fact, Oxford's Comprehensive plan includes a UGB and a call to "Establish a cooperative relationship with Lafayette County to administer some measure of land use controls within the Oxford Urban Growth Boundary." Please come to the meeting on Friday and let's see if community involvement can inspire some cooperation between city and county officials for the long range benefit of everyone in the area.
Mike Mossing, Associate Professor of Biochemistry, Oxford Cycling Club Member and City Pathways Commissioner
-----------------------
To make Lafayette County a healthy, safe, and convenient place, and to provide a pleasant and attractive atmosphere for living, shopping, recreation, civic, and cultural, and service functions.
OBJECTIVE 2-1: To manage Lafayette County's rapid growth in such a way that the rural/suburban atmosphere is maintained.
Ch 6.0 GROWTH MANAGEMENT 6.2 GOALS, OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGIES / ACTIONS
I. Goal: To create a city that is livable and sustainable. To derive the greatest value possible for the City's investment in infrastructure. To grow in a manner providing urban services to a growing urban community.
From Portland Metro. People places. Open spaces
The boundary controls urban expansion onto farm and forest lands. Land inside the urban growth boundary supports urban services such as roads, water and sewer systems, parks, schools and fire and police protection that create thriving places to live, work and play. The urban growth boundary is one of the tools used to protect farms and forests from urban sprawl and to promote the efficient use of land, public facilities and services inside the boundary. Other benefits of the boundary include:
motivation to develop and re-develop land and buildings in the urban core, helping keep core "downtowns" in business
assurance for businesses and local governments about where to place infrastructure (such as roads and sewers), needed for future development
efficiency for businesses and local governments in terms of how that infrastructure is built. Instead of building roads further and further out as happens in urban "sprawl," money can be spent to make existing roads, transit service and other services more efficient.