Des Moines Register
09-06-06
Dallas County wants to limit sprawl
Taxpayer impact: Property value rose billions in last decade
Farmland impact: More than 30,000 acres were converted
By MELISSA WALKER
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
Dallas County officials say they will take steps to protect farmers and wildlife from
a decade-long growth spurt that has gobbled up thousands of undeveloped
acres.
About 30,000 acres of the county's farmland disappeared between 1997 and
2002 under housing tracts, streets and a mega mall, and planners acknowledge
that they have reacted to development rather than plan for its long-term effects.
Officials have enjoyed the fatter tax base and population influx that comes from
Dallas County ranking 52nd among U.S. counties for growth in 2004-2005.
Census estimates put the county's population at 51,762 last year, a 27 percent
increase since 2000.
But they say it's time to listen to preservationists who want to designate some
areas as off-limits to development. It's a movement under way in several areas of
the country as governments turn to "smart growth" concepts to preserve
productive farmland and surrounding green space.
The reason developers like farmland is because it's level, drains easily and can
be cheaper to buy. Experts say the rapid development of rural land is no threat to
Iowa crop production - the number of paved-over acres represented less than 10
percent of the county's total. But restrictions won't hamper developers to any
substantial degree, either.
Therein lies the challenge: to pinpoint areas where growth is encouraged.
"We have to find a place sort of in between, where it's not too environmentally
sensitive to not be developed, and that it's also not on prime farmland," said
Murray McConnell, Dallas County's planning and development director. "We
have to try to somehow protect and preserve those things. Otherwise, we'll lose
what it is that attracts people to the county."
So far, the effort is only part of a long-term plan, which is subject to change. But
11 states have passed laws in recent years that set the conservation initiatives in
stone. Maryland now has a dozen policies on the books to fight sprawl and save
farmland. In Hawaii, growth management laws date back to the 1960s. Oregon in
1973 required all counties and cities to draw up plans that restrict growth in
targeted areas.
U.S. farmers aren't the only ones to feel the squeeze from rural development.
According to one study, China shed 20 million acres of farmland - equal to about
two-thirds of Iowa's ag-devoted acreage - between 1995 and 2005.
Suburban spillover brings new land use
Growth in Dallas County can still be managed, said Mike Duffy, an Iowa State
University economist who studies farm management.
"I would have rather seen it 10 years ago, but I'd rather see it now than never,"
he said. "I would be very discouraged if they just threw in the towel and said, 'Oh
well, it's too late,' and walked away from it."
Much of Dallas County's growth is attributed to suburban spillover in the county's
southeast corner. Clive, West Des Moines and Urbandale all outgrew their Polk
County borders and brought commercial and residential development with them.
The county's overall property value for tax purposes has jumped to $4.6 billion
from $1.4 billion in 1996. Jordan Creek Town Center and its surrounding
development, as well as the new Wells Fargo building in West Des Moines, for
example, increased the total 25 percent since 2004, county assessor Steve Helm
said.
Ag land accounted for 30 percent of the county's overall tax base in 1990, while
commercial property accounted for 11 percent. Those numbers have flip-flopped:
Commercial land now represents 24 percent of the county's tax base; ag land, 4
percent.
Duffy said prime farmland that has been developed in Dallas County and the
United States will play no role in the food supply, but it can change the personal
landscape for people who favor rural living.
"We need to be very much cognizant of what is happening and what it does to
the quality of life," he said.
Duffy and some county officials envision a completely urbanized southeast
corner of Dallas County from Grimes west to Dallas Center and south to De Soto.
Mike Wallace, director of the county's conservation office, said unchecked growth
is "having a significant impact on the natural resources in the county."
"Everybody wants to build a nice home out in the country where it's nice and
scenic, and the more of that that happens, the more natural resources are
encroached upon," he said.
The conservation board has the power to review some development plans and
can recommend the area remain undeveloped. That has happened at least 40
times in the Raccoon River Greenbelt. But Wallace said development in the
southeast corner of the county has limited the views of the river and minimized
the area for wildlife. Development also has jacked up the per-acre price, which
Wallace said makes it difficult for his department to purchase land for protection.
Residents react to changes in county
Some say the county's effort to protect undeveloped land is a decade too late.
Waukee and West Des Moines alone have annexed almost 5,500 acres — most
of it farmland — since 2000.
"At some point in time, they're going to run out of the good farm ground in the
southeast part of the county," said Joe Copeland, whose parents, Ralph and
Estella, own three 160-acre farms. One is certified as a "century farm," and
another will turn 100 years old in 2008.
"As far as cities, it seems like it's just a big land grab," Copeland said. "I don't
know that they have ever tried to rein in the cities from annexing so much
ground."
Bill Fox of Waukee has seen many changes in the Dallas County landscape over
his 74 years. He still owns a large farm that he plans to keep, though he sold 150
acres to a developer.
"My grandson farms it, and we'll just let it go for as long as we can," he said. "I
hate to see the good cropland go for development. But I think we're going to see
more of that."
Mark Hanson, a supervisor, said it's a tricky balance.
"Where should the government say, 'No, landowner, you can't sell it for X amount
of dollars, even though it's your ground?" he said.
Rod Collins, president of the Dallas County Farm Bureau, said zoning officials
have taken some steps to protect farmland with standards based on its ability to
produce corn, "but it's no big deal if somebody comes in and they still say, 'Go
ahead and develop it.' "
More protections are needed, Collins said, because Waukee and Adel officials
expect their boundaries to eventually reach Dallas County Road R-16, and
smaller communities have begun to annex land for new housing developments.
Van Meter recently annexed 200 acres. A developer has purchased another 150
acres outside the city limits.
McConnell said he expects development will continue, especially with a regional
airport between Adel and Waukee and an industrial park near Dexter along
Interstate Highway 80 on the horizon. Farm Bureau publicly opposes the airport,
which would consume thousands of acres.
"We don't believe an airport is a good utilization of the land or taxpayer money,"
said Collins, the organization's president.