RALEIGH -- Wake County is known for its great quality of life, strong economy and excellent recreation amenities. Luckily for us, over the years our leaders and citizens have generally backed good planning decisions that will serve us well into the future. But now a majority of the Wake County Planning Board has advised the Board of Commissioners to repeal the county's Recreation Land Dedication Ordinance (RLDO), intended to help meet the need for recreational space and facilities generated by new residential developments in our fast-growing area.
In addition to generating significant funds for the protection of open space in Wake County, the RLDO has helped develop our greenway corridors and connectivity and assisted water quality protection.
All 12 municipalities in Wake County have some type of RLDO. Of six counties surrounding Wake, all but one have such an ordinance. Why do so many local governments have them?
RLDOs are a sensible and equitable response to the extremely high growth rates recently experienced by our metro area. Even during the recession, the Raleigh-Durham metro area was tops in growth nationally. Some estimates project that our area will experience the highest growth rate in the nation over at least the next decade and possibly into 2025.
Our need for recreational land isn't going to go away as we continue to grow. Open space is expensive in Wake County, in part because it's fast becoming a scarce resource. The RLDO fee-in-lieu requirements are modest - on average only $589 per lot - so it's taken a while to generate funds adequate to purchase recreational land. We have a great opportunity to purchase land now at better prices because of the economic downturn. Unfortunately, just when the fund is large enough to entice municipalities or the Wake County Public School System to partner with the county to jointly purchase park land, the Planning Board has recommended killing the ordinance, eliminating an important tool to provide needed recreation areas for new neighborhoods.
We know from bond referenda and random sample surveys of Wake County citizens that there is overwhelming public support for protecting more open space. Citizens understand that parks and greenways make this a more desirable place to live, improve public health, preserve our environment and increase property values. Our quality of life is important to us, and to our future. We have often heard citizens complain that newer neighborhoods don't have the recreational outlets that older neighborhoods have. People want recreation close to home, not a 15-minute drive away. This is the intent of the RLDO.
The County's Open Space and Parks Advisory Committee thoroughly reviewed the history and effectiveness of the ordinance and unanimously recommended administrative steps to improve its effectiveness, in lieu of repealing it. The Open Space panel's perspective and motivation appears different from that of the development-oriented Planning Board. The former committee is planning long term for the quality of life that is so important to our region's economy.
Wake County has always been a leader on issues such as open space and water quality protection. Let's hope our county commissioners don't set a precedent of going backward for the rest of the region to follow.
Jamie Ramsey and Robert Hinson serve on the Wake County Open Space and Parks Advisory Committee and its RLDO subcommittee.
