From: rkay@ausom.oz.au (Richard Kay)
Newsgroups: alt.planning.urban
Subject: Mall Of America Revisited!
Date: 22 Aug 92 03:49:40 GMT
Organization: AUSOM - The Apple Users Society of Melbourne

saslpo@stevens.unx.sas.com (Len Olszewski) writes:

LO> I'm curious if there are any planning covenants or procedures
LO> anywhere that explicitly, formally and exhaustively look at
LO> potential profitability in assessing the desirability of proposed
LO> commercial developments - anybody know of any? Although I'm out of
LO> planning now, we don't seem to have any locally. And we are in a
LO> period of regional counter-recessionary growth, so we've gotten a
LO> bunch of new malls, new office buildings, and so forth, since
LO> capital is pretty cheap these days.

Didn't the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 provide a
mechanism for concerned groups, as well as state and federal
governments in the United States to request not only environmental but
also economic impact studies of new shopping developments? I am aware
of the fact that in November 1981 President Reagan's Task Force on
Regulatory Relief repealed these guidelines, but if my understanding is
correct, this policy was effectivly used not only to delay some
suburban developments but to prohibit them was it not - at least those
which were associated with any form of federal assistance?

Am I correct in assuming that since 1981 no legislation has been
introduced in the U.S. which requires economic impact analyses in
relation to shopping developments - at least to the same extent
required by the  National Environmental Policy Act of 1969?

A few random thoughts on some aspects of the Australian situation:

Here in Tasmania Schedule 7 of the Local Government Act 1962, which is
the enabling legislation for Town Planning in this state, sets out the
matters which may be dealt with in town and country planning schemes.
There is no mention of the economic or social consequences of
development and as a result there is no power to entertain these
matters in the consideration of development applications for shopping
centres.

In the state of Victoria I believe, if my memory serves me correctly,
"Responsible Authorities" MAY take into account the economic or social
consequences of development - which implies that decisions about
shopping centres COULD be based on the results of economic impact
assessments.

In the state of Queensland, and I am really stretching the grey matter
here, the City of Brisbane Town Planning Act (circa 1980) provided for
the economic impact assessment of major shopping development. As I
recall the Minister for Local Government and Main Roads (Hon. R.J.
Hinze) in the second reading of the Bill in state parliament said "I
would stress that the economic impact assessment is not an assessment
of the viability of the project itself, though some may claim that this
is the indirect result. The term envisages an assessment such as has
been made already on occaisons in the Local Goverment Court of the
public need and demand for a major shopping development..."

In answer to your question then I advise, that at least to my limited
knowledge, there is no legislation presently in operation in Australia
that explicitly, formally and exhaustively requires an approval
authority to look at potential profitability in assessing the
desirability of proposed commercial developments. There have been
attempts to require assessment of the ECONOMIC IMPACT of proposed
commercial developments but this does not appear to have extended to
the concept of the ECONOMIC VIABILITY of such developments.

I hope this is of interest and/or assistance. :-)
-- 
| Richard Kay          | Telephone:     +61 03 362801                |
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