For
a community to be successful in implementing
smart growth, it must be embraced by the private
sector. Only private capital markets can supply
the large amounts of money needed to meet the
growing demand for smart growth developments.
If investors, bankers, developers, builders
and others do not earn a profit, few smart growth
projects will be built. Fortunately, government
can help make smart growth profitable to private
investors and developers. Since the development
industry is highly regulated, the value of property
and the desirability of a place is largely affected
by government investment in infrastructure and
government regulation. Governments that make
the right infrastructure and regulatory decisions
will create fair, predictable and cost effective
smart growth.
Despite
regulatory and financial barriers, developers
have been successful in creating examples of
smart growth. The process to do so, however,
requires them to get variances to the codes
– often a time-consuming, and therefore
costly, requirement. Expediting the approval
process is of particular importance for developers,
for whom the common mantra, “time is money”
very aptly applies. The longer it takes to get
approval for building, the longer the developer’s
capital remains tied up in the land and not
earning income. For smart growth to flourish,
state and local governments must make an effort
to make development decisions about smart growth
more timely, cost-effective, and predictable
for developers. By creating a fertile environment
for innovative, pedestrian-oriented, mixed-use
projects, government can provide leadership
for smart growth that the private sector is
sure to support.
