RALEIGH -- The Wake County Board of Commissioners voted to eliminate a statute that required residential builders to allocate acres of open space or contribute to a fund to pay for it elsewhere.
"In an ideal world, we would keep the ordinance, but this is really not an ideal world right now," board member James West said. "Leadership is certainly situational, and we truly need to look at some ways we can stimulate the economy."
The board made the change after hearing a presentation from the Wake County planning staff and the Wake County planning board's recommendation to repeal the ordinance July 6. County planners said that the rule was out of date and ineffective and that the county has since come up with better ways to preserve open space.
Developers said the ordinance created another obstacle in an industry already floundering in the struggling economy.
Some community leaders and conservation groups are worried that this decision will lessen Wake County's commitment to greenways, decreasing quality of life, property values and migration to the area.
Under the ordinance created in 2002, builders were required to pay a fraction of the tax value per acre on a given lot or allocate land for open green space, or sometimes both.
Developers will no longer have to do either. They will not have to directly contribute to the cost of open space preservation when building in a new area, lowering their upfront costs.
The ordinance raised upfront costs, discouraging builders and making many projects unfeasible, members of the Home Builder's Association of Raleigh-Wake County told board members in a public hearing Monday.
Wes Carroll, the association's president, said in an interview after the hearing that the ordinance was very expensive and that builders needed the commissioners to take action. . "Anything that they can do to help the construction industry will ultimately help in job creation."
Tim Minton, the association's executive vice president added that building one house creates at least three jobs.
"Projects are not being started," Minton said. "And in this market, with lot costs going down and building costs going up, there's not always a balance, making projects not feasible.
"We recognize the importance of open space, but also we have to be reasonable and do it in a thoughtful way."
Open-space support
Board members Betty Lou Ward and Ervin Portman were in favor of keeping the ordinance. But both said they were open to making slight changes to the ordinance - whether temporarily reducing fees to developers or expanding the three-mile radius requirement.
Portman said he appreciated the existing ordinance's long-term outlook.
"One of the reasons that we are a desirable place to live is because of our investment in open spaces and parks and recreation areas," he said.
"If you contrast that with the fact that we are also one of the fastest growing areas, it is very important to ensure that we continue to have these areas. ... And the taxpayers can't do it all by themselves."
Nearly all of Wake County's municipalities and neighboring counties have similar open-space ordinances for builders - something that could now give Wake an unfair advantage over building in towns, Portman said.
Compromise lost
Tappan Vickery, program coordinator for WakeUp Wake County, an organization working for sustainable growth, said she was disappointed by the board's decision.
"This eliminates an infrastructure for parks and recreation space that can benefit our economy and community," she said in an interview. "I was hoping for a compromise - it was all or nothing.
"Home builders will actually suffer because home values will not be as high without green space nearby."
Board of Commissioners Chairman Paul Coble said the ordinance was actually an ineffective tax, as it targets a small group to pay for open space. "And just because other counties have a poor and inefficient tax, it is no reason for us to have one," Coble said.
Only $42,633 spent
Known as the Recreational Land Dedication Ordinance, the measure has resulted in a fund of $1.7 million intended for the purchase of recreational space within three miles of new development.
But the geographic limitations of the ordinance have made it increasingly difficult for planners to find suitable land for open space.
For instance, it may be impossible to find - or at least extremely expensive to buy - open space near a new development in a densely developed part of the county.
To date, $42,633 of the open-space fund has been spent. Through the land-allocation alternative, 154 acres across nine subdivisions have been designated as open space.
Alternative in place
"The county has more strategic methods to preserve open space and require parkland - methods more effective than this impact fee," said Tim Maloney of the Wake County Division of Community Services.
Under the Open Space Program - which allows the county to buy open space by selling bonds - the county has raised $91 million, allowing them to protect 4,600 acres of land during the past 10 years.
The $1.7 million balance will be retained by the county and used for its intended purpose to purchase park land and protect open space.
Minton said a potential next step would be talking to municipalities about reconsidering their respective policies similar to the repealed ordinance.
