Comprehensive Land Use Management

Project Leader: Glenn Garber

General Information

Currently in Massachusetts:

The Commonwealth has the distinction of being the only state that lost population in the 2000 US Census. It is the third most densely populated state in the nation, but still possesses significant areas containing viable forest blocks, natural resources systems and rural landscapes. However, due to the predominant home rule practice of zoning vast segments of the suburban and rural regions of the state for 1, 2 and 3 acre, single family home densities, the rate of land consumption for residential development is increasing, even when the population growth rate is flat.

The state is fragmented into 351 local units (towns and cities) with full governance responsibility, but whose borders were rational ones only prior to the advent of the 20th century. Today, those municipal bounds are obsolete in many ways, in the age of the automobile, digital and internet communications, regional & statewide (and greater) economies and the vast geographic impact of environmental problems. Almost half of the municipalities do not have professional planning staff; their volunteer boards struggle with increasing levels of responsibility, liability and public pressure.

The state's planning, zoning & subdivision statutes are among the most dysfunctional in the nation in terms of their ability to enable effective regional and local planning, protect natural resources and to appropriately direct development to areas already built and served by infrastructure. A uniquely broad set of exemptions within those statutes often makes it difficult for real planning control to be exerted.

Highly land consumptive development patterns and widespread exclusionary zoning have contributed (along with other factors) to a housing affordability dilemma in the state, a practice that is perceived in some quarters as being in competition with land and water resource protection. All parties seem to agree that the housing situation is damaging to economic growth.

The policy challenge confronting Massachusetts is how to move communities, the state government, organizations and landowners toward commitments and initiatives that are likely to bring about substantial changes in the manner in which Massachusetts develops. Changes to the regulatory and public policy environment at the state, regional and local level must be pursued to help manage the highly decentralized and land consumptive growth that has predominated for 60 years.

The execution of a comprehensive research, education and outreach strategy will help to bring about improvements at the local, regional and state (and later multi-state levels) and participation by all stakeholders. The Comprehensive Land Use Management program of the Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation Department of Extension will engage in research, outreach, facilitation and education activities that improve existing planning, regulatory and design practices. These efforts will involve the exploration of innovations in land use, resource conservation and sustainable development. Private protective approaches involving landowners and organizations will also be analyzed for their impact and added to the tool kit, with outreach to landowners interested in fully or partially protecting their land.

The University of Massachusetts Amherst possesses a strong academic and research base for addressing many elements of land use planning. Expertise and research capacity exist in the Department of Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning in the areas of regional land use, watershed and open space planning & economic development. Programs such as the Center for Rural Massachusetts and the Citizen Planner Training Collaborative combine research and land use education in the field. In addition, UMass Extension can draw on the research expertise of other departments and campus centers such as the Department of Natural Resources Conservation, the Center for Public Policy and the Department of Resource Economics. UMass Extension has also built strong collaborative relationships off campus with the professional and municipal planning community, with state planners and legislators, and foundations.

Based on information from stakeholders and an assessment of the University's current research and extension capacity, UMass Extension will be addressing the following priorities in Land Use Management over the next five years:

1. Develop and Promote Land Use Tools & Policies that Foster Sustainable Development
2. Promote integration of natural resources protection into land use planning and economic development.
3. Facilitate Balanced Growth, Integrating Land Conservation and Management with Development.

Activities

• Strategizing Open Space Laws: Completing the Study/Final Report
• Strategizing Open Space Laws: Public Education & Communications
• Strategizing Open Space Laws: Professional Publication
• Five Town Action Initiative: Professional Publication
• Five Town Action Initiative: Scholarly Publication
• The National Planning Laws Survey
• Smart Growth Incentive Statutes and Programs: National Case Studies
• Smart Growth Incentive Statutes and Programs: National Case Studies--Professional publication
• Smart Growth Incentive Statutes and Programs: National Case Studies--Scholarly Publication
• National Planning Laws Survey: Outreach and Education
• Center for Rural MA - Website Update and Maintenance
• Smart Growth /Sustainability/Low Impact Development project
• Central Mass Historical Landscape Inventory: Applied Research
• Central Massachusetts Historical Landscape Inventory

Inputs: Time and Effort

Outcomes:

This Project will document progress towards the following:

• Participants acquire the knowledge and skills to promote, implement or adopt Land Use plans and programs that accommodate development in a manner that protects ecosystems, water and other natural resources.
• Participants develop the knowledge and skills to adhere to principles of sustainability and smart growth
• Participants develop the knowledge and skills to promote, implement or participate in strategic land conservation programs that protect ecosystems, water and other natural resources.

Extension program related to this project: Natural Resource & Environmental Conservation