2015 APA Virginia Annual Conference

The fiscal impacts of development and growth is garnering increased attention. Conventional wisdom seems to be that suburban development is a financial drain on a locality while urban development at higher densities is a boon-—regardless of the type and characteristics of the community. While this may be true in many cases, there are pitfalls of a default generalized answer. Only part of the story is being told. Several factors are essential to consider-—including local revenue structure, services provided, levels of service, quality and capacity of infrastructure, existing policies and philosophies, and the market for increased density. Generalized analyses that do not consider these factors will not tell the full story and are not transferable from community to community. It is important to evaluate specifics by locality to truly address these important question. This session will dissect recent efforts to analyze fiscal impacts of development (e.g., Smart Growth America, Strong Towns) with a wide-ranging discussion on the pros, cons, and transferability of these efforts. Case studies will be used.