Carson Bise, AICP, becomes an Affiliate of the National Center for Smart Growth

TischlerBise is pleased to announce that its President, Carson Bise, AICP, has been named an affiliate of the National Center for Smart Growth Research & Education (NCSG). Mr. Bise is honored to be recognized among the NCSG’s nearly two dozen distinguished University of Maryland faculty members, faculty from other academic institutions, and public and private sector professionals who are experts in public policy, agricultural economics, American studies, geography, landscape architecture, engineering, urban design, architecture, and community planning.

As an NCSG affiliate, Mr. Bise will collaborate with an interdisciplinary network of industry experts, academics, and planning professionals to offer smart growth leadership training to federal, state, and local government officials as well as to private sector decision-makers. This is an exciting opportunity for Mr. Bise to leverage his national fiscal impact consulting expertise and his familiarity with local government planning to assist communities in achieving their goals related to smart growth.

The National Center for Smart Growth Research & Education was founded in 2000 and is a non-partisan center for research and leadership training on smart growth and related land use issues in Maryland, in metropolitan regions around the nation, and in Asia and Europe. The NCSG conducts and disseminates research with the intent to inform public policy and advance knowledge on topics related to smart growth. Areas of exceptional strength include transportation, land use and economic modeling, especially in the mid-Atlantic region; smart growth policy evaluation, especially in Maryland; and affordable housing policy across the nation.

Learn more about the NCSG’s mission and recent projects by visiting its website.

Carson Bise, AICP, and Julie Herlands, AICP Speak at the APA National Conference in Chicago

President Carson Bise, AICP, and Principal Julie Herlands, AICP, recently returned from the American Planning Association’s 2013 National Conference in Chicago in mid-April, having presented at two different conference sessions.

Both sessions ultimately examined techniques to ensure the fiscal sustainability of communities. Mr. Bise and Ms. Herlands were joined by Gavin McMillan, AICP, of the City of Louisville, CO in the first session, titled “Local Fiscal Challenges and Planning Solutions.” The three discussed the direct link between land use and fiscal conditions and examined realistic methods to implement plans despite shrinking municipal coffers. The session focused on current national efforts to better understand how planning decisions affect the fiscal viability of localities.

Mr. Bise and Robert W. Burchell, Ph.D., of Rutgers University presented at a second conference session, titled “The Economics of Smart Growth,” where discussion focused on what factors most influence the fiscal impact of different land uses, and how planners can pinpoint the right mix of land uses to achieve fiscal sustainability. Bise and Burchell, moderated by Julie Herlands, AICP, examined strategies to encourage smart-growth development, including high-density planned communities that reap greater fiscal rewards than low-density sprawl.

One point that Mr. Bise emphasized at the conference was the need for local governments to evaluate new development proposals in the context of their total fiscal situation. Especially due to stagnant or declining revenues over the past few years, communities might be tempted to grant tax or other economic incentives to new development to gain needed revenues. However, communities often give in to developers’ demands for excessive financial incentives without considering their return on investment. An independent fiscal analysis helps communities make an informed decision when they are asked to incentivize new development.

For example, a recent fiscal analysis conducted by TischlerBise on the Sahuarita Town Center in Arizona found that although the Town Center would generate net surpluses, the Town of Sahuarita should not enter into a tax sharing agreement with the developer. With a large proportion of residential development but no property tax, the Town needed any sales tax revenues generated by the Town Center to subsidize existing and future residential development and related demand for services. Read more about the analysis and its findings here.

City of Boulder, Colorado - 10-Cent Disposable Bag Fee

The City of Boulder, Colorado recently unanimously adopted a 10-cent disposable bag fee. The fee was based on a study which TischlerBise performed for the City that considers the public cost of recycling disposable bags, as well as the cost to educate the public and implement the fee. Food retail stores, including grocery stores, convenience stores, and Target will be affected by the new ordinance, which becomes law in July, 2013.

Read the Daily Camera's article about Boulder City Council's adoption of the ordinance.