Fayetteville is hiring an Asheville, North Carolina firm to help provide a look at the economic impact of future development decisions.
The City Council on Sept. 5 unanimously agreed to hire real estate economics firm Urban3 at a cost of $37,520 to conduct an analysis of the economic impact of the city’s development decisions.
Recommending the action, City Manager Ray Gibson in an Aug. 29 letter said, “Urban3 is a real estate economics firm that maps the financial health of built environments to get communities to start thinking differently about development. They believe that understanding the economic impact of various land use patterns is an imperative first step to building and growing a sustainable community. Staff feels that such an analysis for the City of Fayetteville would help communicate through 3-D modeling the financial impact of the city’s decisions regarding development.”
Gibson said the analysis will involve a process spanning approximately four months and will also include a look at pertinent data from Fayette County and surrounding cities.
Urban 3 in a letter to the city said its work not only reflects the relative fiscal efficiency of development patterns, but also helps policymakers and practitioners deliver a data-driven understanding of the economics of place.
“Through mapping and analyzing the financial health of communities, we show the true value of design. This helps communities make smarter decisions about future development and capital improvements. Overall, we aim to democratize complex tax information, because we believe everyone should be able to participate in conversations around community growth and fiscal health,” Urban 3 said.
The firm has worked with over 150 communities in the United States, New Zealand, Canada and Australia, offering advice that has led to more effective decision-making by integrating the concept of fiscal sustainability and land use considerations into policy making, according to Urban3.
Boy o boy, is this a good idea!
I assume these people are legit and not just a rubber-stamp type of reviewer and if they are legit it is is probably the best $37,000 in taxpayer’s money ever spent. Of course the elected people and staff would have to listen to their findings before acting, but that should be easy because it gives the politician some cover as in “Urban 3 said this was going to be good for the city”.
Coutny of Fayette and cities within Fayette take notice and ask yourselves if Urban 3 or someone like them should be providing expert analysis of a heretofore ignored topic before people start voting with their feelings instead of their brains.