Arthur C. Nelson

After decades of evolving practice often tested in court, development impact fees have become institutionalized in the American planning and local government finance systems. But, they remain contentious, especially as they continue to evolve. This book is the third in a series of impact fee guidebooks for practitioners, following A Practitioner’s Guide to Development Impact Fees and Impact Fees: Proportionate Share Development Fees. Proportionate Share Impact Fees and Development Mitigation is the culmination of the authors’ careers devoted to pioneering applications of the dual rational nexus test. That test requires (1) establishing the rational nexus between the need for infrastructure, broadly defined, to mitigate the impacts of development and (2) ensuring that development mitigating its infrastructure impacts benefits proportionately. The book elevates professional practice in two ways. First, it shows how the rational nexus test can be applied to all forms of development infrastructure impact mitigation. Second, it establishes the link between professional ethics and equity as applied to proportionate share impact fees and development mitigation. The book is divided into four parts, with the first reviewing policy and legal foundations, the second detailing the planning, calculation, and implementation requirements, the third exploring economic, ethical, and equity implications, and the fourth presenting state-of-the-art case studies. Proportionate Share Impact Fees and Development Mitigation sets new standards for professional practice.

After decades of evolving practice often tested in court, development impact fees have become institutionalized in the American planning and local government finance systems. But, they remain contentious, especially as they continue to evolve. This book is the third in a series of impact fee guidebooks for practitioners, following A Practitioner’s Guide to Development Impact Fees and Impact Fees: Proportionate Share Development Fees. Proportionate Share Impact Fees and Development Mitigation is the culmination of the authors’ careers devoted to pioneering applications of the dual rational nexus test. That test requires (1) establishing the rational nexus between the need for infrastructure, broadly defined, to mitigate the impacts of development and (2) ensuring that development mitigating its infrastructure impacts benefits proportionately. The book elevates professional practice in two ways. First, it shows how the rational nexus test can be applied to all forms of development infrastructure impact mitigation. Second, it establishes the link between professional ethics and equity as applied to proportionate share impact fees and development mitigation. The book is divided into four parts, with the first reviewing policy and legal foundations, the second detailing the planning, calculation, and implementation requirements, the third exploring economic, ethical, and equity implications, and the fourth presenting state-of-the-art case studies. Proportionate Share Impact Fees and Development Mitigation sets new standards for professional practice.

Growth Management Principles and Practices shows how to integrate diverse growth management practices into a comprehensive system that balances potentially competing planning goals. Authors Nelson and Duncan argue that growth planning must be coordinated among different levels of government and across regions i

One of the policies that has been most widely used to try to limit urban sprawl has been that of urban containment. These policies are planning controls limiting the growth of cities in an attempt to preserve open rural uses, such as habitat, agriculture and forestry, in urban regions. While there has been a substantial amount of research into these urban containment policies, most have focused on issues of land use, consumption, transportation impacts or economic development issues. This book examines the effects of urban containment policies on key social issues, such as housing, wealth building and creation, racial segregation and gentrification. It argues that, while the policies make important contributions to environmental sustainability, they also affect affordability for all the economic groups of citizens aside from the most wealthy. However, it also puts forward suggestions for revising such policies to counter these possible negative social impacts. As such, it will be valuable reading for scholars of environmental planning, social policy and regional development, as well as for policy makers.

American's landscape is undergoing a profound transformation as demand grows for a different kind of American Dream - smaller homes on smaller lots, multifamily options, and walkable neighbourhoods. This trend presents a tremendous opportunity to reinvent our urban and suburban areas. But in a time of fiscal austerity, how do we finance redevelopment needs? In Foundations of Real Estate Development Finance: A Guide for Public-Private Partnerships, urban scholar Arthur C. Nelson argues that efficient redevelopment depends on the ability to leverage resources through partnerships. Public-private partnerships are increasingly important in reducing the complexity and lowering the risk of redevelopment projects. Although planners are in integral part of creating these partnerships, their training does generally not include real-estate financing, which presents challenges and imbalances in public-private partnership. This is the first primer on financing urban redevelopment written for practicing planners and public administrators. In easy-to-understand language, it will inform readers of the natural cycle of urban development, explain how to overcome barriers to efficient redevelopment, what it takes for the private sector to justify its redevelopment investments, and the role of public and non-profit sectors to leverage private sector redevelopment where the market does not generate sufficient rates of return. This is a must read for practicing planners and planning students, economic development officials, public administrators, and others who need to understand how to leverage public and non-profit resources to leverage private funds for redevelopment.

Nearly half the buildings that will be standing in 2030 do not exist today. That means we have a tremendous opportunity to reinvent our urban areas, making them more sustainable and livable for future generations. But for this vision to become reality, the planning community needs reliable data about emerging development trends. Arthur C. Nelson delivers that resource in "Reshaping Metropolitan America", providing statistics about changes in population, jobs, housing, non-residential space, and other key factors. Most importantly, he shows the benefits of reshaping America in ways that meet emerging market demands, and then outlines a policy agenda to do so. It does not simply make predictions; it shows that Americans want better communities, what the benefits are, and how to get there.

Does environmental protection impose a cost? Many communities across the United States still lack affordable housing. And many officials continue to claim that 'affordable housing' is an oxymoron. Building inexpensively is impossible, they say, because there are too many regulations. Required environmental impact statements and habitat protection laws, they contend, drive up the costs of construction. But is this actually true? In a comprehensive study of the question, the authors of this eye-opening book separate fact from myth. With admirable clarity, they describe the policy debate from its beginning, review the economic theory, trace the evolution of development regulation, and summarize the major research on the topic. In addition, they offer their own research, accompanied by a case study of two strikingly different Washington, D. C., suburbs. They also include results of focus groups conducted in Dallas, Denver, and Tucson. The authors find that environmental regulatory costs - as a share of total costs and processes - are about the same now as they were thirty years ago, even though there are far more regulations today. They find, too, that environmental regulations may actually create benefits that could improve the value of housing. Although they conclude that regulations do not appear to drive up housing costs more now than in the past, they do offer recommendations of ways in which the processes associated with regulations - including review procedures - could be improved and could result in cost savings. Intended primarily for professionals who are involved in, or impacted by, regulations - from public officials, planners, and engineers to housing developers and community activists - this book will provide useful insights and data to anyone who wants to know if (and how) American housing can actually be made 'affordable'.

One of the policies that has been most widely used to try to limit urban sprawl has been that of urban containment. These policies are planning controls limiting the growth of cities in an attempt to preserve open rural uses, such as habitat, agriculture and forestry, in urban regions. While there has been a substantial amount of research into these urban containment policies, most have focused on issues of land use, consumption, transportation impacts or economic development issues. This book examines the effects of urban containment policies on key social issues, such as housing, wealth building and creation, racial segregation and gentrification. It argues that, while the policies make important contributions to environmental sustainability, they also affect affordability for all the economic groups of citizens aside from the most wealthy. However, it also puts forward suggestions for revising such policies to counter these possible negative social impacts. As such, it will be valuable reading for scholars of environmental planning, social policy and regional development, as well as for policy makers.

Growth Management Principles and Practices shows how to integrate diverse growth management practices into a comprehensive system that balances potentially competing planning goals. Authors Nelson and Duncan argue that growth planning must be coordinated among different levels of government and across regions in order to be effective. Studies of growth trends, profiles of regulations in various states, and numerous tables and photographs illustrate the benefits of properly integrated growth management activities and the adverse effects of unmanaged growth and poor planning. The authors also explain how growth management fits into a broad policy framework. They look at how growth management can protect taxpayers, help governments plan for public facilities when and where they're needed, distribute facility costs according to burdens imposed and benefits receives, and protect local and regional economic bases.

This book presents a comprehensive method by which to determine the proportionate share of the costs and revenues generated by the development of new water, wastewater, and stormwater facilities. It presents a rational, legally defensible approach to assessing charges based on the use of new and existing facilities to support new system development. Written by a consultant who has helped hundreds of communities deal with how to pay for growth, the book is designed for all communities presently engaged in calculating and administering charges for new development, as well as those planning for future growth.