Open space good for economy
November 18, 2010
Peter Hall, Bucks County Courier Times
According to a report from the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, open space provides many benefits beyond simply saving pretty places.
Preserved open space contributes billions of dollars to Southeast Pennsylvania's economy in the form of higher housing values, jobs, recreation and by helping government and individuals avoid health care and environmental costs, according to a study commissioned by the region's planning agency.
The study provides support for the notion that open space preservation provides benefits beyond simply preventing new development, said Montgomery County Commissioner Joseph Hoeffel.
"Open space preservation is more than just protecting pretty places - it has an economic value and an economic benefit for our communities," said Hoeffel, who serves as chairman of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission.
The DVRPC released "The Economic Value of Protected Open Space in Southeastern Pennsylvania," this week in partnership with the GreenSpace Alliance, a nonprofit group dedicated to supporting open space preservation throughout Southeast Pennsylvania.
Bucks County Commissioner Diane Ellis-Marseglia, who serves as the planning commission's treasurer, said the study also provides evidence that investment in open space programs is worthwhile.
"In this time when economics are difficult, people need to be reminded of the value of open space," Marseglia said.
According to the report, homes as far as one mile from preserved open space benefit from an increase in value that adds up to $16.3 billion across Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties and Philadelphia.
That's an average of $10,000 per home.
In areas immediately surrounding parks, however, the effect on property value is more pronounced. Homes within a quarter-mile of Bucks County's Peace Valley Park, a 1,500-acre county park in New Britain Township, are each worth about $35,155 more than comparable homes elsewhere, authors of the study estimate.
Homes close to Montgomery County's Perkiomen Trail, which follows a former railroad bed for 19 miles along the Perkiomen Creek, are worth about $4,766 more than comparable homes elsewhere, according to the report.
Patty Elkis, associate director of comprehensive planning for DVRPC, said the company that performed the study, Econsult Corp., used a database of about 230,000 residential property sales to determine the effect of open space on property values.
By filtering out all of the other factors that affect property values, Econsult was able to estimate the impact of open space on residential property value, Elkis said.
The elevation of property values as a result of open space preservation also contributes an additional $240 million in property tax and transfer tax to local governments, the report says.
Preservation of farmland and natural areas contributes about $133 million in environmental services that would otherwise have to be provided artificially, the report says. Open space contributes to water supplies, water quality, flood control, wildlife habitat and air pollution removal.
The study also says trees on the region's preserved land play a role in preventing climate change as the result of carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuels.
"If the carbon currently stored in trees - both above and below ground - on protected open space were released into the air, it would cause damages due to increased carbon emissions that would cost approximately $61 million to mitigate," the report says.
Recreation and health of Southeast Pennsylvania residents are major beneficiaries of open space, the report says.
The recreational opportunities available in the region's parks are worth $577 million. By being active and leading an outdoor lifestyle, Delaware Valley residents avoid about $795 million in medical costs. And because the region's residents are healthier, employers save about $485 million in lost productivity costs, according to the report.
The value of recreational opportunities, Elkis said, was determined by asking residents what they would pay for those opportunities if they were not locally available and multiplying the average amount by the number of park visitors. The health and productivity costs were derived from studies of those costs elsewhere and factoring in the number of park users, Elkis said.
Finally, the study examined the economic activity created as a result of open space preservation.
Governments, businesses and consumers spend $566 million a year on activity directly related to preserved open space. That includes maintenance and management of government-owned parks, the purchase of produce from preserved farms and tourism-related spending.
The government, agricultural and tourism sectors also employ about 6,900 people who earn $299 million in salaries as a result of preserved open space, the report says.
While Elkis said the goal of the report was to "reframe the dialogue to show that open space is a benefit and not just an expense," Bucks County Planning Commission Executive Director Lynn Bush said many county officials view open space preservation as more than "a dollars and cents decision."
Farmland and open space preservation in Bucks have been driven in large part by a desire to preserve the county's agricultural heritage and natural resources.
"I think in Bucks County, preservation of open space has proven to be important to people for other intangible reasons," she said.
Peter Hall can be reached at 215-345-3067 or [email protected]. Follow Peter on Twitter at twitter.com/phall215.
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