Archive: Opinions

I've said before that if growth in Lansing is going to occur anyway, let's control it with zoning, sewer and water.  These are the main tools a town has to mold its future.  The Town of Lansing has been slow to use these tools.  Possibly the most striking consequence of this was the formation of the Village of Lansing.  But with little developments springing up all over town and the prospect of a large development on the Kingdom Farm property that could yield more than 400 lots, a little direction doesn't seem like such a bad idea.

That's what Town Engineer David Herrick proposed in this week's Sewer Committee meeting, and I think it is a great idea.  He said that the Town of Half Moon, north of Albany, created a plan to control the impending development of a third of their township on their own terms.  They drew up a plan that defined the kind of town they want to be, then figured out ways to make it happen that way.

That kind of approach seems to me to be putting the horse before the cart where it belongs.  It defines the character of the community as the community wants it to be defined, then lays out a way to make it happen.  One of the criticisms of the sewer project has been that denser growth in the town will ruin the rural character of Lansing.  Coming up with a plan and using the available tools, including sewer, to achieve it may be the only way to save it.

The sewer district as proposed makes a stab at doing this.  By keeping the sewer south of Buck Road it helps insure the preservation of farm land in the north of town.  Even that leaves a lot to chance.  The sewer makes a lot more sense if it is used as a tool to create the town we want.  And it will be more likely to pass if it is viewed as a means to that end.

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