Release Date: September 25, 1998 This content is archived.
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The Institute for Local Governance and Regional Growth at the University at Buffalo will host a conference on sprawl in Western New York from 6-9 p.m. on Oct. 7 in the Sheraton Inn Buffalo Airport. The conference is the third in the institute's "Regionalism: From Agenda to Action" conference series.
The first session in the series, held in Fall 1997 and attended by 250 leaders from a range of sectors and communities, identified planning and land-use issues at the top of the regional agenda. The second, in early Spring 1998, focused on land use and planning, raising a range of issues related to development in the region.
The Oct. 7 session, featuring an open forum on sprawl, will be moderated by the Hon. John P. Lane, New York State Court of Claims judge and former town attorney for Amherst.
"Sprawl has increasingly been a part of the public conversation in Western New York about regional development and growth," said John B. Sheffer, II, director of the Institute for Local Governance and Regional Growth. "It has also been a central issue in regional efforts around the country and is a subject of ongoing national conversation.
"What the institute has increasingly heard, in Western New York, is a call for a conversation that focuses on our regional issues -- not on comparisons to efforts elsewhere, but a local examination and discussion of sprawl in our region by local leaders and by those who serve and do business here."
Sprawl is the name widely used since the 1970s to describe the spread of development from previously developed areas into previously undeveloped areas, requiring new infrastructure and creating fiscal, economic, environmental, social and administrative impacts. Managing the impacts of sprawl is a focus of policies and programs such as those collectively referred to as "Smart Growth."
Sen. Mary Lou Rath and Assembly member Sam Hoyt jointly have introduced Smart Growth legislation in both houses of the New York State Legislature.
The two legislators also sponsored a Sept. 4 Smart Growth roundtable in Erie County to hear various sectors' perspectives on the state's role in development issues. A similar Genesee County roundtable is planned for October, with a formal legislative hearing to follow in November.
In addition, Smart Growth initiatives recently have been proposed by Erie County and the New York Conference of Mayors. Several upstate mayors, including Anthony Masiello of Buffalo, William Johnson of Rochester and Roy Bernardi of Syracuse, have supported the Conference of Mayors initiative.
At the federal level, sprawl is a key issue for initiatives in sustainable development being conducted by the President's Council on Sustainable Development, the departments of Housing and Urban Development, Agriculture and Energy, and the Environmental Protection Agency.
Sheffer envisions the Oct. 7 conference as an opportunity to examine Western New York perspectives on these widely discussed issues, to assess common ground among the interests and requirements of various sectors and to strengthen the region's awareness of, and approach to, issues related to sprawl.
"Unlike the previous two Regionalism: From Agenda to Action conferences, this one is structured as a public forum, with a minimum of formal presentations and a maximum of input from those attending," Sheffer said. "A great many Western New Yorkers are already aware of issues related to sprawl. This conference is intended to get key concerns on the table and help us connect them."
The conference registration fee, which includes a dessert buffet, is $15. A copy of the conference flyer is attached. More information is available at the institute (716-829-3777) and at the institute Web site at .