The Columbus community has talked about light rail for almost 30 years, but has not discussed its real potential as a tool for growth management, nor addressed the reasons why the local building industry has opposed a light rail system for Central Ohio. Now, at a time when federal and state funding is available for 75 percent of the construction costs, it is doubtful the community will ever pass a bond issue for the local share without building industry support. Opposition from the building industry is complicated and not well understood by those in favor of light rail. In an earlier era, builders and developers supported public transit.

A century ago new development occurred in Columbus with the expansion of the street car system. Developers bought land at the city’s edge along major corridors in anticipation that the line extension would increase demand for development. When the line was extended, developers built stores and housing to take advantage of the demand created by people that wanted to live close to public transit. However, as the personal auto became the dominant mode of transportation, local builders adapted a business strategy of buying land on the edge of Columbus in corridors designated for highway expansion.

In the 1960’s, Columbus responded to the growing use of autos with an aggressive annexation policy. This policy supported the expansion of infrastructure services and the capture of tax revenue from new suburban development. Over the last four decades, this policy has provided public services in a systematic way, creating a stable market for housing and commercial development. Developers have been able to effectively inventory land to meet anticipated demand for industrial, commercial and residential expansion. However, this aggressive outward expansion has created a land use pattern called ‘sprawl’ that results from leaving substantial amounts of land vacant or underdeveloped.

In the last decade it has become more costly for developers to control prime land as the City’s edges have expanded and commercial development can ‘leap frog’ to the newest interchange. As a result, builders are confronted with greater opportunity costs in choosing sites for development, more risk from competition and greater carrying costs associated with holding land prior to development.

The Columbus growth policy has created a city with a large geographic area that is very dependant upon the private auto. A comparison of the city in 1950 to the present shows that it has doubled in population in the last 60 years, but increased in size by more than four times. Recently, city officials have begun to realize that the future prosperity of the city cannot be guaranteed by only promoting an outward ‘green fields’ (building on undeveloped green space) growth strategy. A new strategy is needed that balances the historic policies for outward growth with public incentives to encourage growth inside the city on vacant land already served by the existing infrastructure.

The construction of a city-wide light rail system will create the foundation for a balanced growth strategy that also encourages development inside the city. Builders in other major cities with well-established light rail transit know that commercial and residential building occurs at increased densities in rail corridors and they have experience building in these urban settings. As the light rail lines are completed in Columbus, new development opportunities will occur in the rail corridors and especially around each station. There will be a learning curve for local builders and city officials in implementing this new development process. The City should promote this new development process as the first rail corridor is established between the downtown and Polaris. Residents within walking distance of high speed rail can live comfortably without a car. This development would provide individuals with economic opportunity, increase real estate values and the City’s tax base.

Light rail construction and the success of a balanced growth policy is dependant on the Central Ohio construction industry’s support. The federal and state government is willing to fund 75 percent of this project if voters pass a bond issue for the local share. Residential builders and commercial developers feel light rail is a threat to their business’ ‘good will’ that is based on the City’s outdated growth policy. The local construction and development community’s expertise and identity has been based on ‘green field’ building , and this interest group does not want city policies to change. Builders know that light rail can be a powerful tool for creating demand for urban living and thus could threaten ‘business as usual’ by opening up a second front in the competition to maintain market share. To capture a share of this new type of demand, developers would have to challenge existing business assumptions and adapt to change and risk loosing a share of the traditional ‘green field’ development. These transition challenges are valid and need to be addressed if light rail is to be successful in Columbus.

The city of Columbus must take the initiative to help convince developers to support light rail by creating a builder incentive program. This proactive approach by the City can create a win-win situation for Central Ohio citizens and the building community. This incentive program should be coupled with ongoing efforts to reduce future risk to environmentally sensitive areas that are now being degraded by green field development. Builders that have inventoried land in these sensitive areas should be compensated for selling the development rights and the City should provide development incentives for developing land at greater densities within rail corridors. Columbus should establish a Land Trust Authority to implement this program. It would provide public officials with a tool that can be used to avoid a ‘no win’ situation in ecologically sensitive areas such as the Hellbranch Run which is presently the most threatened tributary of the Big Darby Creek Watershed. The Authority would be funded to buy development rights on the urban fringe and sell them in the light rail corridors. This would slow growth in ecologically valuable areas and encourage growth in underdeveloped areas within transit corridors. The program would be an important tool for implementing a balanced growth strategy for decades to come.

A Central Ohio transportation system that includes light rail is essential to a balanced growth strategy, but balanced growth will be achieved only if the building industry supports it. The transition will require a building incentive program. The benefits to Columbus citizens and business will far exceed the costs by providing a broad base for economic development and a high quality of life.

Tom Logsdon is a Sierra Club member and a board member of 1000 Friends of Central Ohio