Benefits of open space extend beyond property values, advocates say

Fantastic location -- backs up to vineyard!

Fabulous secluded location on 19 acres of vineyard!

Hard-to-find ranch on two acres of grapes -- close-in country!

You can see the value of open space every weekend in the News-Sentinel real estate guide.

The virtues of living near vineyards, or living in them, are regularly trumpeted.

But advocates say the benefits of open space extend beyond property values.

They cite the preservation of a local economy based on agriculture and tourism. They contend that open space puts less pressure on local taxpayers than subdivisions.

And, they believe open space helps preserve community identity and that intangible but oh-so-important attribute known as quality of life.

"There are people who would be happy to pave everything over, but that's not what I feel most Lodians want," said Mayor Susan Hitchcock, an advocate of exploring ways to preserve open space.

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"We value our open spaces here, and that's not a reaction to keeping Stockton away from us. It's an instinct to preserve what is best about Lodi."

The search for an open space solution between Lodi and Stockton has continued for more than 15 years. As development has marched northward from Stockton, and the countryside between Stockton and Lodi has become heavily sprinkled with ranchettes, mini-farms and even churches, advocates say there is a growing sense of urgency.

They cite these incentives:

• Property values

In a 1996 report for the Lincoln Institute for Land Policy Research, the authors gathered a variety of studies on open space value. To varying degrees, the studies indicated that open space typically enriches nearby property values. For instance, researchers found that parcels next to a greenbelt in Boulder, Colo., were worth 32 percent more than those located several blocks away.

	Open space by the numbers $7,000 to $20,000 Range of value for an acre planted in grapes near Lodi, based on type of grape, age of vines, quality of vintner contract, proximity to Lodi and development potential. $2,083 Average value of an acre of Iowa farmland 9.9 percent Population growth of Lodi from 1990 to 2000 15 percent Population growth of Stockton from 1990 to 2000 $150,000 to $200,000-plus Current cost range of a residential lot in the city of Lodi $50,000 to $100,000-plus Cost range for a lot in Lodi in 1990 80,000 Number of acres currently planted in wine grapes in the Lodi-Woodbridge appellation. 45,000 Acres in wine grape production in 1991 $150,000 to $350,000-plus Price range of a buildable site in the country near Lodi, typically eight or more acres. 1 Number of homes allowed per 40 acres in the dominant agricultural zoning designation between Lodi and Stockton

A study found the preservation of open space near Chesapeake Bay in Maryland brought an increase in adjacent housing prices ranging up to 27 percent.

A 1999 study showed that open space in New Hampshire adds $8 billion annually to that state's economy.

One of the authors of the Lincoln valuation project, Charles J. Fausold of Cornell University, said substantial swaths of open space are likely to lift overall community property values.

"It just stands to reason," he said. "Do you want to live in a pleasant environment with access to open space and recreation or in a community composed of faceless suburban sprawl?"

Fausold cautioned, though, that the relationship between open space and higher values is not universal.

For instance, homes next to some urban parks actually have lower values and houses next to noisy or smelly farm operations, such as dairies, may have decreased values.

• Retaining the ag-tourist economy

Open space advocates underline the importance of agriculture as a plank in the foundation of the local economy.

In 2002, for example, the winegrape harvest in the Lodi-Woodbridge appellation was worth more than $300 million; it has been as high as $500 million annually. Maintaining the harvest, and the jobs associated with it, should be a critical priority, said Carol Whiteside, president of the Great Valley Center in Modesto.

"Ag is a base economy. It produces year after year," she said. "In the Valley, we don't have a lot of replacement jobs moving in, so we must maintain what we have."

Tourism is closely linked to the wine industry in and around Lodi. Last year, the community drew an estimated 86,000 visitors.

"They are coming by the busload now," said Mark Chandler, executive director of the Lodi-Woodbridge Winegrape Commission. Last year alone, more than 30,000 people visited the Lodi Wine and Visitors Center on Turner Road.

Chandler's group is working to increase demand and prices for Lodi and Woodbridge-derived wines. The more a grower can make from raising crops, the less tempted he is to sell his land for development, Chandler said.

• Keeping taxes lower

Part of the Lincoln study examined the burden, or lack of it, placed on local government by open space. The findings: Open space may be a relative bargain. Orchards, vineyards and open fields do not require the level of police, water, school, sewer and other services as residential development.

For example, staff with the American Farmland Trust studied six rural towns in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York state, and found residential development required $1.13 in services for every $1 in revenue generated, as opposed to 42 cents in services for farms and open space.

Another study ranked a variety of land uses and their draw on local governments versus their contribution. Office parks were at the top, contributing substantially more in revenues than they used in services, and mobile home parks were at the bottom; open space and undeveloped land was in the middle.

Fausold issued this caveat: The studies done to date tend to reflect the point of view of the organization sponsoring it.

• Quality of life and community character

Lodi attorney Ann Cerney has worked to balance growth with land preservation. Earlier this year, she successfully lobbied the developer of the Vintner's Square Shopping Center to set aside farmland to offset the acreage devoted to the project at Highway 12 at Lower Sacramento Road. (Jennifer M. Howell/News-Sentinel)

Lodi's character as a vintage farming town is worth preserving, said Ann Cerney, a lawyer who has spoken out on planning and open space issues.

(Most recently, Cerney lobbied successfully to have developers of the planned Vintner's Square shopping center set aside a comparable amount of farmland as an offset to the project.)

"Historically, there is something valuable about roots and knowing where you came from," she said. "Identifying with a place has value, and preserving that identity has value."

Whiteside, of the Great Valley Center, said the buzzword in some planning circles is "authenticity."

"What's authentic and real about a community, and how that be preserved, is becoming a priority," she said.

"People don't want their communities to be cookie-cutter copies of everyplace else."