With the usual influx of summer visitors in full swing, a typical conversation with folks from out of town will likely include talk of real estate: Prices, locations, new developments, old houses and the like are all par for the course. With several non-traditional developments in the works, the discussions between Buena Vista locals tend toward what an influx of retirees, second home owners and new residents could mean for the future of this community. That in mind, Barbera Ehrenreich of ‘Nickel and Dimed‘ fame has an excerpt from her new book in next weeks edition of The Nation magazine. While I find her to be a bit of an alarmist, she voices one point of view very clearly,

“I witnessed this kind of deterioration up close in Key West, Florida… At a typical party you might find literary stars like Alison Lurie, Annie Dillard and Robert Stone, along with commercial fishermen, waitresses and men who risked their lives diving for treasure (once a major blue-collar occupation). Then, at some point in the ’90s, the rich started pouring in. You’d see them on the small planes coming down from Miami–taut-skinned, linen-clad and impatient. They drove house prices into the seven-figure range. They encouraged restaurants to charge upward of $30 for an entree. They tore down working-class tiki bars to make room for their waterfront “condotels.”

This is one example of the very thing that causes long time residents of beautiful and ‘undiscovered’ places to give tourists and newcomers a wary look: The idea that someone will discover your tiny, wonderful oasis, move in with their friends and break the working mans back as housing prices (and property taxes) skyrocket in response to new demand. With so many examples of towns in surrounding communities that have surrendered their identities to serve the second home owner (no need to name names, you know the ones I’m talking about), what’s a community to do?

Regular readers know that ChannelBV talks about Smart Growth often. Looking for new ideas, the EPA Smart Growth award winners provide some good examples of communities facing similar issues and making constructive choices to preserve local heritage, encourage growth and invite new residents to join, not subsume, the balanced community. The 2007 award winning town of Barnstable, MA,

“…experienced tremendous growth. Hyannis, one of the town’s seven villages, saw growth at its edges characterized by low-density residential subdivisions and strip retail, while its downtown was plagued with vacant storefronts and disinvestment. This pattern strained local infrastructure and impacted the town’s fragile natural resources and historic character.”

John Kimm, Hyannis town manager continues,

“Thanks to our collaboration with local stakeholders and the implementation of smart growth initiatives, what just a few years ago was a blighted and underperforming village center is now a place where people desire to live, work and play. Both residential and commercial development is flourishing downtown and newly fostered arts and culture programs have contributed to the renaissance of downtown Hyannis.”

With a focus on affordable housing, job creation and keeping new development happening on existing infrastructure close to town centers, growth can be a boon for all residents, new and old. All it takes is an understanding that growth will happen, and the vision, planning and will to help it happen right. Even in Greater Buena Vista.

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