The Cost of Development
Legacy Land Trust is not against development. A mixture of land uses is essential for the health of our communities.
Yet residential development costs cities and counties more in services than it pays for in property taxes,
which can result in tax increases for everyone.
Maintaining roads, expanding schools, providing health and safety services, expanding water and sewer services, and coping with increased traffic all cost taxpayers money. Providing affordable housing, infrastructure services, and protecting open space require wise land use and concentrating development where it can best be served.
The cost of development makes open land a fiscally attractive alternative. Once developed, open land is difficult, if not impossible, to retrieve.