APPENDIX I.   SCOPE OF WORK

TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE

PAWCATUCK WATERSHED [and other watersheds in Washington County, RI].

 SECTION I - BACKGROUND

  Rhode Island's cities have been losing population to suburban and rural communities since the 1960 census.  The 1990 census documented that the first tier of suburban communities from the Providence Metropolitan area are losing population to the secondary tier of suburban communities located further away from Providence.  New growth in Rhode Island is now occurring at a rapid pace in communities that do not have the infrastructure to support increased densities.  Suburban sprawl is the result.  The Pawcatuck Watershed has one of the highest growth rates in Rhode Island and is among the top 3 fastest growing areas of New England.  This trend is expected to continue in the future.

 The Pawcatuck Watershed as seen in figure l is in the southwest corner of Rhode Island and southeast corner of Connecticut.  It spans 10 Rhode Island and 4 Connecticut communities ^[1] comprising a range of land uses from predominantly very rural to suburban with a few pockets of urban development.  The entire watershed has been designated by EPA as a sole source groundwater aquifer.  The Pawcatuck Watershed includes deep unconfined aquifers, prime farmland, unfragmented forest, a federally designated scenic and recreational river, and unique natural habitat for numerous rare and endangered species.  Nonpoint source pollution from storm water runoff and septic systems has already impaired surface and groundwater quality.  Since groundwater is the sole source of supply for both private and public wells, groundwater contamination is of great concern and will determine the area's long term potential for sustainable development.

 Fiscal stress has added to the environmental challenges.  Residential growth creates substantial new demands for local services, especially public education but property taxes are too low for each new house to generate sufficient revenue.  Most towns are pursuing revenue generating commercial and industrial development that may directly cause additional non-point pollution, loss of farmland and managed forest, and additional demand for suburban residential development to accommodate new workers.  Due to the explosive growth rate, dependence on groundwater as the sole drinking supply, and high quality surface waters the US EPA, in conjunction with a consortium of Federal, State and local partners, has established the Pawcatuck as a high priority watershed to protect.  The Nature Conservancy has identified the Queens River Watershed, a major subwatershed of the Pawcatuck, as a top priority for the protection of ecologically significant habitat and nutrient sensitive rare aquatic organisms.

 The Pawcatuck Watershed is right on the edge of the escalating urban development emanating from the Providence Metropolitan area.  This same watershed is the linchpin for one of Rhode Island=s biggest industries, tourism.  The scenic rural character of the watershed and its beaches and coastal ponds draws tens of thousands of visitors each year.  Efforts are already underway to further promote ecotourism within the Pawcatuck Watershed to attract tourists to the abundance of recreational opportunities and numerous points of interest.  The continuation of suburban sprawl within the watershed would irreversibly reduce its attraction as a tourist location.

 The Rhode Island Nonpoint Source Pollution Management Plan which is part of the R.I. State Guide Plan has documented that water quality degradation is directly correlated with growth and land use.  One particular development by itself is not necessarily detrimental.  However, the cumulative effects of poorly planned growth have severe ramifications to water quality and cause the conversion of farm/forest land to other uses, the loss of wildlife habitat, and the deterioration of rural character.  A key policy of the Rhode Island Nonpoint Source Management Plan is to carefully plan for and manage new growth to minimize land use impacts on water quality and other sensitive natural resources.

 Many towns within the Pawcatuck Watershed rely exclusively on conventional zoning and subdivision ordinances to manage new growth.  However, the Scituate Reservoir Watershed Zoning Project concluded that conventional development ordinances can encourage environmental degradation and promote the suburbanization of rural communities.  Conventional ordinances are based on the premise of established and nonflexible zoning districts, lot sizes, set back distances, and thus lot configurations.  Therefore, to comply with the aforementioned rigid requirements new development is often required to be established in uniform grid-like subdivisions that do not consider the unique features of the site or the impacts of large lot development over a regional area.  New growth and re-development need not necessarily cause environmental problems and loss of rural character.  In fact, new growth is not only inevitable in rural Rhode Island, it may be desirable to achieve sustainable communities.  Encouraging industrial and commercial growth could decrease the escalating tax burden on residential property owners.

 The Scituate Watershed Zoning Project determined that it is where and how growth is occurring that is the problem, not growth itself.  For example, if new homes are built in the middle of an existing corn field no one in the future can use this to earn their living as a farmer.  Support businesses in the community that served the farmers lose a customer.  The view of the farmscape from the road disappears forever and the houses in the middle of a field stand out against the landscape with a permanent loss of rural character.  In addition, the road within the new subdivision is much wider/straighter than the existing town road that provides access to these new homes.  As a result, farmland is lost and the town character becomes more suburban, and water quality problems begin.

 From strictly an economic standpoint, towns lose tax revenue every time a farm or other open space parcel is developed.  The Cost of Community Services in Southern New England is a study that documented that for every dollar a town received in tax revenue from residential uses it costs them $1.14 in services.  Therefore, there is a net tax loss for every new home built.  Commercial/Industrial costs a town approximately 43 cents for every dollar received.  Other studies have suggested though, that as Commercial/Industrial uses increase there is an associated increase in residential growth which creates a cycle where the town finds it difficult to achieve a real increase in its tax base and sustainability.  However, the community only spends 42 cents to service open space which is actually a higher net tax return than Commercial/Industrial and open space provides numerous tangible and intangible benefits to a community.

 The larger scale settlement pattern also has important environmental and economic implications for local communities.  Policies that promote infill development and gradual village expansion can lead to sustainability by building social diversity and encouraging the substitution of walking and bicycling for driving.  Corollary policies for much lower densities using Acompact@ development in outlying areas can reduce impermeable surfaces, preserve cores and corridors of habitat, and prevent encroachment of suburban development into agricultural areas.  Together, these compact development policies also reduce fiscal burdens by reducing infrastructure capital and maintenance costs.  But in New England, it is difficult to reduce development capacity in outlying areas without provoking substantial debates about property rights.  In this context, it will be helpful to explore a range of techniques for shifting development within communities.  To this end, the project will explore such tried-and-true means such as cluster zoning  as well as transfer of development rights (TDR) programs, which allow landowners in conservation areas to sell their development rights to landowners in areas slated for growth.  TDR programs have been successfully applied in New Jersey, Maryland, and California, but has yet to gain acceptance in Rhode Island.

Rhode Island in the early 1990's substantially revised and updated three state enabling statutes that govern local land use decisions.  All cities and towns are required to prepare comprehensive plans that addressed 9 elements established by statute.  In addition, all community comprehensive plans must be consistent with the State Guide Plan.  All cities and towns are also required to revise their zoning ordinances to be consistent with their comprehensive plans.  The Zoning and Land Development and Subdivision Enabling Acts were also substantially revised to give community officials the unprecedented power and explicit authority to apply more innovative land use tools to manage growth.  Rhode Island has been recognized nationally for adopting the three aforementioned land use statutes.