Agenda - Council - 02/26/1979 - Laserfiche WebLink

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-2- o The character of its residential base (popu- lation and household age, income, employment, trends). o The character of its economic base (service, commercial and industrial development; its market, its contribution to the community; its service requirements). o The type and extent of its local service pro- vision (fire, police, sewer, water, other) costs thereof; its adequacy in meeting existing needs. o Local government capability (its current level of administrative procedures and personnel, their present adequacy). o Competition for future growth and needed resources from other communities and sectors. o Unique assets or attributes of the community (e.g., strong agricultural market, historic or ethnic significance). o Physical/environmental constraints. o Community goals and views for the futre. The rural center planning process need not be designed for growth and expansion. Indeed, not all rural centers desire growth and for many centers there are strong factors which would inhibit significant growth. %.~ether a community chooses to remain at its present level of development or to expand, the securing of its existing residential, economic and service base is of foremost importance. RECOMMENDATION III: RECOM~IENDATION IV: RECOMmeNDATION V: Rural center plans and implementation programs should first consider means to maintain existing development, assure adequate services to the existing base within its ability to pay for them, and, if necessary, establish programs for the revitalization of its older areas. A strategy for future growth must include a reasonable assessment of anticipated growth based on overall regional growth projections, and competition for that growth and resources to support it from other rural centers, freestanding growth centers, and the urban area. Rural center plans must assure an adequate level of services for anticipated new growth that is attainable through local financing and administration. "Shrinking" tax bases, increasing numbers of tax exempt properties (e.g., schools, churches, parks), and the continued scatteration of non-farm development outside of rural center boundaries that require services of the center have created serious fiscal burdens for rural centers. RECOPRMENDATION VI: Rural communities on the periphery of rural centers should be aware of the limitations of rural center service provision to their develop- ment and should coordinate their development plans with those of the rural centers throughout the planning process. Measures which accurately allocate the costs of such service provisions to beneficiaries outside the rural center should be initiated where lacking and updated periodi- cally to reflect actual service costs.