Study finds grass not the only "green" in preserved land.
November 17, 2010
Sam Strike, Main Line Media News
A study released this week finds that protected open spaces add billions of dollars to the value of the region's housing stock and millions of dollars in revenue to local governments in southeastern Pennsylvania.
The Economic Value of Protected Open Space in Southeastern Pennsylvania, a study produced by economic-research and land-conservation organizations, quantifies how much protected open spaces provide economic, environmental and public-health benefits to communities.
Patty Elkis, associate director of comprehensive planning for the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission (DVRPC), one of the organizations that commissioned the study, said the study assumed that substantial economic benefits are generated by open space but wanted to measure how much.
"We wanted to have a study that quantified the benefits for our area to more effectively use the research to favor future funding for open space," said Elkis. "We hope that the study will help provide more funding for open-space preservation, especially since state funding is drying up in 2011."
When considering open-space acquisitions, often the only quantifiable number is the cost of protecting land, which is expensive in southeastern Pennsylvania. For proponents of open-space preservation, it can be a challenge to convince the general public of its value beyond environmental and public-health benefits.
"The conventional thinking is that the outright acquisition of open space through bond proceeds is a luxury, or a costly extravagance that is not appropriate in a tight economy," said Elaine Paul Schaefer, a Radnor Township commissioner and former executive director of a land conservancy.
"However, the truth is that it can actually be more fiscally responsible in the long run for a municipality to purchase open space - even at market value - rather than let it go to residential development," she said.
Development can prove very costly to a municipality, especially an older, built-out community, she said. There are the increased costs of township services such as police, sewer and road maintenance to be considered, as well as providing public education to those with children who choose it.
"Even if the fiscal impact of purchasing open space is neutral or even negative, in many cases it is still in a township's best financial interest to preserve and protect its coveted viewsheds and important natural resources," Schaefer said.
The study does not analyze the costs associated with acquiring, preserving or maintaining land as protected open space.
The study estimated the value of protected open space by measuring the effects of protected open space on residential-property values, the value associated with environmental services provided by the region's protected open spaces, the value of recreational activity on protected open space and associated avoided health-care costs, and the jobs and revenue created by activity on and connected to protected open space.
The DVRPC, while not an advocacy group, has a goal to preserve another 500,000 acres of open space throughout the nine-county region in its long-range plan, Elkis said.
As the municipal-planning organization for the greater Philadelphia region, it plans, educates and informs on topics that are important for the "livability" of the region, and open-space preservation is one of those topics, she said.
About 14 percent of the land in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties is protected open space, from parks and trails to working farms, according to the study.
There are about 96,000 acres of public parks in the region, 60,000 acres of private, trust-owned and eased lands, and about 42,000 acres of preserved farmland.
The largest amount of publicly owned protected open space is at the municipal level (18 percent), followed by county (15 percent), state (14 percent) and federal (2 percent) levels.
Almost three-quarters of all protected open space in southeastern Pennsylvania is in Chester (47 percent) and Bucks (26 percent) counties, according to the study.
Delaware County is on par with Philadelphia, both at 6 percent.
According to the study, homes as far as one mile away from protected open space capture a "measurable increase" in their value because of that proximity; the increments of value captured total $16.3 billion.
Also, by increasing the value of homes in a one-mile radius, protected open space also increases the amount of property taxes and transfer taxes that local governments and school districts get, equaling $240 million per year in increased revenues, the study finds.
The study analyzes about 230,000 home sales in the five counties of southeastern Pennsylvania from 2005 to 2009 to estimate the effect of protected open space on residential-property values and related fiscal impacts.
Real-estate agent Tracy Pulos said that the study confirms what she sees in the local real-estate market.
"Buyers do appreciate open space and will pay more for properties which are near it. Many of the most expensive properties in Radnor Township are located in the scenic areas near Chanticleer and the Ardrossan estate," she said.
"Some of the properties in that area have conservation-easement deed restrictions, which limit the amount of buildable area and protect undeveloped land. This benefits the homeowners and local residents by protecting scenic views of open space, and also benefits our environment by protecting natural habitats," Pulos said.
The Radnor Trail was one of seven case studies of different types of protected open space from across the five-county study area in the report.
The study notes that the 2.4-mile multi-use trail on a former trolley line, which had a long and contentious path to its creation in 2005, has helped to increase already strong property values in the area.
According to an analysis of real-estate sales within a quarter of a mile of the trail, proximity to the Radnor Trail equates to an average property enhancement of $69,139. The trail is also often mentioned as an amenity in real-estate listings.
"Buyers appreciate the ability to access a protected path to safely walk, jog, ride bikes and push strollers without worries about traffic," Pulos said. "Today's buyers want to live in an area with a sense of community and trails help provide that."
Economics aside, it also provides a convenient additional outlet for exercise, contributing to a healthier community, the study notes.
The study was produced for GreenSpace Alliance, an alliance of conservation organizations, and the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission by the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, a nonprofit organization that uses research to address regional issues, Econsult Corp., a firm that provides economic research, and Keystone Conservation Trust, a charity focusing on preserving and finding value in land.