Parma studies open space options, will look to residents for input

Parma studies open space options,
will look to residents for input

The Town of Parma currently stands at 18 percent developed. Will it remain that way into the future? Is that what the residents and taxpayers want?

These are a couple of the questions members of the Parma Farmland and Open Space Preservation Committee will be seeking answers to when they mail out their survey to the town's residents. Village of Hilton residents will also be included in the survey mailing.

Since early February, members of the committee have been meeting to determine ways to protect the farmland and open space in the town. "We're trying to be proactive," Committee Chairman Scott Copey said.

Town board member Jim Smith said one of the purposes of the committee was to "get a picture of where the town does, or does not, want to go" when it comes to development.

The committee, comprised of a cross section of residents and taxpayers, includes: Pat Buskey, Marilyn DeMeyer, Tim Harner, Don Harter, Rick Holden and Tim Thomas. In a letter being sent to residents, the committee members write, "agriculture is essential to our town's rural character and contributes greatly to the local economy. In Parma, there are currently just a handful of farmers left. They work not only their own land but also rent much of the open ground that defines the very character of the town ..."

Town Supervisor Rick Lemcke said, "Everyone is very territorial and once they have moved into their new home in a development, they want to close the gates behind them so that the town can retain the rural character - which is the reason most people move here."

Currently, Lemcke said, Parma has the fifth lowest tax rate in the county without the benefit of a landfill or a mall in its midst. "We haven't had a lot of pressure to increase taxes to meet the demand for more services," he said.

"It's a Catch-22," Smith said. "People want to move here because of the rural character, but with more people moving here, the rural character could be eroded."

Copey said that the farmland in the town is more than just farmland, "It's the town's industry. Agriculture is the character of Parma. An Open Space plan is about preserving the character of the town as much as the physical impact upon it."

In a survey that will be sent to residents, there are questions which ask the respondent to define their concept of the character of the town. It also asks respondents to rank, on a scale of 1-10, what they feel is most important to Parma. Rankings are asked on how important it is to preserve Parma's rural character to whether it's important to preserve farmland and encourage local farming to the importance of promoting public activities and passive recreational areas.

Once the information is gathered and analyzed from the surveys, the committee will make recommendations to the town board. Lemcke said one of the things that might come from the survey is that the board may go out and purchase easements from the owners of the undeveloped land. "We would have to go out for a bond issue and it would be an item the taxpayers would vote on. But if the town owned the easements, we would have control over future development," he said.

With an open space plan in place, the town would be eligible for federal and state money in the form of grants that would help pay for the easements.

Smith said that he suspects more of the town's previously uncultivated land would become utilized because of the crops needed to supply ethanol plants that are being constructed in other areas.

Parma is home to about 15,000 residents, not including Village of Hilton residents which number about 5,000. Lemcke said the town sees the construction of about 40 new homes per year.

Lemcke stressed that it is imperative that residents complete and return the survey. "We, as a board, do what the majority of the taxpayers instruct us. We need a mandate from the people to move forward and those who live here need to be involved in the future of the town."

Copey said that once the survey results are tallied the committee will likely convene a public meeting as a way to let residents know the results. In addition to the survey being mailed, residents will be able to access and complete it on line at parmany.org/openspacesurvey.asp.