[ Home ] [ Membership ] [ Contents ] [ Search ] [ Links ]

Welcome to Oldham Ahead!

Apple Blossom in Oldham County, by Linda Park

           Learn what Oldham Ahead is doing to enhance the county’s natural and cultural resources while working to sustain its equine, agricultural, and commercial base.   We invite you to learn what you can do to contribute to the county’s future vision.

"Preserving a Rural Legacy for the 22nd Century"

2007 Oldham County Population Estimates Released March 20, 2008:
Population as of July 1, 2007 Nearly 56,000

The Census Bureau released the 2007 County Population Estimates on March 20, 2008.  The estimated county population as of July 1, 2007 was 55,935.  Since the 2000 census, Oldham County has realized a gain of 9,757 people for an overall 21.1 percent increase.  The increase since July 1, 2000 (from which yearly estimate data are computed) is an estimated 8,954.  The data indicate that Oldham County is the 5th fastest growing county in Kentucky since the 2000 census in the percentage increase of population (21.1 percent) and is 8^th in net numeric increase (9,757 persons).              

Download and read our Fact Sheet

Land Stewardship and Conservation Task Force

Legislation Approved to Re-Authorize the Task Force for 2008, Expand Scope:
Governor Beshear Signs Resolution on April 24

The Kentucky Legislature in 2006 authorized the formation of a Land Stewardship and Conservation Task Force to develop recommendations for a comprehensive conservation program for Kentucky. 

Representatives David Osborne  (Oldham County) and Robin Webb introduced House Concurrent Resolution 93 to re-authorize the Task Force and expand its scope and impact.  The resolution states that the task force shall serve for a period of two years and meet no fewer than six times or until its tasks have been completed.

More importantly, the resolution states that the task force shall produce a legislative proposal for the creation of a Land Stewardship Coordinating Committee to be focal point for all land and property rights acquisitions in the Commonwealth n regard to conservation, recreation and preservation properties, with the proposal to be ready for consideration by the 2009 General Assembly.

Lastly, the task force shall produce legislative proposals relating to the funding, assessment, prioritizing and acquisition of conservation, recreation and preservation properties in the Commonwealth. These proposals shall be ready for consideration by the 2010 General Assembly.

The resolution passed both houses during the 2008 session and was signed by Governor Beshear on April 24.  State Senator Ernie Harris voted for the resolution.

Oldham Ahead has been involved with the Task Force in recommending the Task Force consider adopting a highly successful Virginia state tax credit program to address Kentucky's generally dismal performance in land conservation compared to its neighboring states.   At the task force's request, last June Oldham Ahead provided an overview of Virginia's program and suggested proposed legislation to provide incentives for land owners placing land in conservation easements.

OCEDA Releases Oldham Reserve Economic Impact Study:  Patience is Key to Success

Oldham County is developing a large parcel of land along Interstate 71 near the La Grange interchange.  The Oldham County Economic Development Authority, Inc. released an economic impact study written by Paul Coomes Ph.D, a well-regarded consulting economist from the University of Louisville on March 27.  Titled "The Potential Economic Impacts of the Oldham Reserve Office Campus Development", Dr. Coomes provided estimates of the potential economic and fiscal impacts associated with the development.  In his report, Dr. Coomes examined several scenarios with respect to the mix of residential, commercial, and office development within Oldham Reserve and analyzed potential economic and tax receipt and expenditure impacts.

Dr. Coomes' findings reflect the likely impacts of the development of Oldham Reserve per its master plan falls roughly into five categories:

Significant in the report is the following regarding the property tax impacts of office, retail and residential dwelling: 

Typically, there are more property tax revenues generated from office and retail activity than from residential use. Offices and retail operations tend to locate in accessible high traffic areas, for the convenience of workers, customers, and vendors. They bid up the value of land near interstate highways, on major thoroughfares, and in downtowns. Offices are typically multi-story, full of equipment, and generally more expensive per square foot to build than a home. And the value of retail space gets bid up as demand develops. By contrast, homes tend to be built farther away from major transportation nodes and thus on less expensive land. Moreover, homes generate more demand for schools, police, fire, libraries and other public services than does the activity in most commercial buildings.

We can make a rough estimate of the (local) public costs per home by organizing recent budget figures from the City of LaGrange, the Oldham County Fiscal Court, and Oldham County Public Schools. I have pulled out expense items that are most linked to households, aggregated them, and divided by the number of households. This yields an average local government cost of around $3,000 per household. This estimate is crude, because it implicitly assumes that all the police, fire, and sanitation budgets are spent on households - ignoring businesses. However, most of the county businesses are there because of homes, so there is some indirect justification for this. Finally, even if the average really is about $3,000 per household, it is a stretch to say that the next 100 households will cost local government 100 x $3,000. There are no doubt economies of scale to many of the services, which would tend to lower the marginal cost of growth. On the other hand, I am not accounting for the capital costs of a new school, which would be needed once the number of new residences passed a threshold where existing school capacity is reached.

Given these caveats, the crude estimate of local public costs per household can be a guide in making decisions about the mixture of real estate development in the County. For Oldham Reserve, the difference between a focused office park with limited residential development and a more laissez faire development with conventional subdivisions is between 1,700 and 2,300 households. Using our rule of thumb, this implies additional local public costs of between $8 and $10 million annually. This is also approximately the amount of new local tax revenues that the households would generate.

Oldham Ahead has supported OCEDA's efforts to diversify the county's residential heavy tax base since OCEDA's inception.  Dr. Coomes' findings validates the premise in the Cost of Community Services Study Oldham Ahead commissioned in 2003.  We also believe that Dr. Coomes' study suggests that the "break-even" point for residential houses exceeds an assessed value of $300,000 with respect to generating property taxes to cover local public services. 

Read the Report by Paul Coomes, Ph.D.
Read Paul Coomes Summary published April 2, 2008 in the Oldham Era
Read the Courier-Journal Story from March 26 by Andrea Udhe

April 2008

Oldham County Bike, Pedestrian, and Greenway Trails and Parks Update

Planning Commission Recommends Greenways Master Plan Approval by 13-0 Vote

Presented to Oldham County Fiscal Court April 15

The Oldham County Planning and Zoning Commission considered and approved the Oldham County Bike, Pedestrian, and Greenways Master Plan on Tuesday, March 25, 2008.   The commission approved the plan in an unanimous 13-0 vote.  The Oldham County Planning and Zoning office, with the plan's consultant, Pat Hoagland of Brandstetter Carroll Inc presented the plan to the Oldham County Fiscal Court on April 15.  The court received the presentation and plan without comment. 

While the planning commission generally praised the overall plan and the planning aspects of the Master Plan, Fiscal Court's noticeable lack of interest begs the question of the Court's commitment to quality of life enhancements for the county.  Secondly, it begs the question as to the viability of the Vision Council recommendations and the county's commitment to achieving the stated vision of being the best rural/suburban county in Kentucky.

Download the Plan

Related Articles

Oldham Era Article by John Foster, March 27, 2008

Courier-Journal Article by Andrea Uhde, April 2, 2008

Wendell Moore Park Grant Request, RoundAbout, Helen McKinney, April 2008

Morgan Park Upgrades, RoundAbout, Helen McKinney, April 2008

Kentucky Legislature Passes Recreational Trails Legislation

Governor Steve Beshear signed into Law Senate Bill 196 on April 11.  The legislation establishes the Kentucky Recreational Trails Authority attached to the Office of the Secretary, Commerce Cabinet, for the purpose of planning and implementing programs to expand tourism opportunities for off-road activities that are pertinent to nonmotorized and motorized vehicle use, including but not limited to pedestrians, bicycles, mountain bicycles, horses, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), and off-highway vehicles (OHVs), on designated lands in Kentucky.  The legislation addresses contractual agreements for public use of private land, its operations, maintenance, and the protection of landowners' rights and interests.

The Kentucky Recreational Trails Authority is charged with responsibility for developing and implementing a strategy to increase responsible and legal recreational activity by all types of recreational users, including all-terrain vehicles (ATV) and off-highway vehicles (OHV) on private land. The authority shall include an informational campaign directed toward in-state and out-of-state recreational users that addresses the implications of trespass, vandalism, and littering.

Read the text of Senate Bill 196

Quick Links

Orchard Grass Hills Sewer Plant's Future is on the Line (Courier-Journal, Apr 2, 2008)

Easement Aims to Protect Dogwood Hill, (Courier-Journal, Mar 26, 2008)

New Liberty, Prospect Schools Included in Board of Education Facilities Plan (Courier-Journal, Feb 20, 2008)

County Stormwater Fees Proposed (Courier-Journal, Feb 20, 2008)

New County Tourism Web (Courier-Journal, Feb 20, 2008)

Norton Commons Fire Station Breaks Ground (Courier-Journal, Feb 20, 2008)

Jefferson County Environmental Land Trust Receives Easements (Courier-Journal, Feb 19, 2008)

 Housing Slump:  Builders Cut Back Plans for 2008 (Courier-Journal, Jan 23, 2008)

Land Trust Formed for Henry, Owen, and Franklin Counties (Courier-Journal, Jan 3, 2008)

Briar Hill Woods Letter to the Editor (Oldham Era, Jan 3, 2008)

Briar Hill Development Approved Despite Residents' Arguments (Courier-Journal, Dec 26, 2007)

Equus Development Approved (December 19, 2007)

Oldham County Equine Council Equine Survey (November 2007)

August 2007 Oldham Ahead Newsletter

Scott County Passes Purchase of Development Rights Ordinance, Provides $1 million in Funding

Scott County became the second county in Kentucky to adopt a Purchase of Development Rights program with $1 million allocated to seed the program in the proposed FY 2009 Budget. John Lacy, chair of the local Farm Bureau and Soil and Water Conservation District, noted several keys to getting the PDR program adopted: “PDR was a top priority of our county Comprehensive Plan update; we reconvened the rural committee as soon as the plan was completed to develop a strategy to get this recommendation implemented."

The Scott Co. Fiscal Court approved the PDR Ordinance on April 11 to preserve farmland.   All fiscal court members voted "YES".   In addition, Judge-Executive Lusby stated that, $1 Million has been allocated to seed the program in the proposed FY 2009 Budget, which begins July 1, 2008.

Oldham Ahead congratulates Scott County and urges county government to follow Scott County's example.

Scott County PDR Ordinance
PDR Brochure
Scott County Farmland Posters
Scott County PDR Ordinance Presentation

2007:  Building Permits Continue to Decline

The total number of Oldham County new housing units building permits issued in 2007 totaled 339, representing a  29.5% decline from
2006.  The total also reflects a 59% decline from 2003, which registered the highest number of building permits in the county since 2000.

Since 1990, the percentage increase of the Oldham County population has remained within a relatively narrow range while building permit percentage changes and numeric values  have varied greatly.     The figure below compares the percentage changes in population and building permits from 1991-2007.

 

Speculative building that far outpaced Oldham County's impressive  population increases, coupled with county growth policies and Fiscal Court decisions  that are favorable to the development community contributed to both the building boom and decline.  More importantly for Oldham County taxpayers, the unchecked growth has contributed to a county government budget "crisis" and over $90 million in construction projects for Oldham County schools that have resulted in  property tax increases for Oldham County citizens.  Unlike fast growing counties in other states, Fiscal Court and School Board policies in effect subsidize the developers at the expenses of the taxpayers (individuals and businesses) by spreading the costs of growth to all taxpayers  rather than targeting growth to pay for growth.  Other states and counties around the country have used impact fees and proffers to address the costs of growth.  Oldham County citizens must demand that its elected officials (Fiscal Court and School Board) reexamine  its revenue  policies relative to paying for growth and adopt rationale strategies that accommodate growth while targeting the costs of growth to those who generate it.