Public Utility Regulation of Growth Management

Abstract

Note: The following workshop, part of the Alfred Bettman Symposium on Planning and Law, took place at the 1978 ASPO Conference in Indianapolis. The title of this symposium comes from an idea that Dick Bab-cock first tendered at the 1975 ASPO Annual Conference. In a nutshell, Babcock suggested that: The abuses and inequities in land transactions and land use regulations could be largely eliminated if land were treated and regulated as are other commodities affected with a public interest, for example, public utilities. Babcock's idea is expanded upon in a study of the relationship between capital improvement programming and growth management by ASPO; Ross, Hardies, O'Keefe, Babcock, and Parsons; Peat, Marwick, Mitchell and Co.; the Municipal Finanm Officers for HUD and the National Science Foundation. In the final background report, entitled Local Capital Improvements and Development Management, the authors suggested that public utility law concepts could be used as a standard for judging the legality of growth management systems. The suggestion was borne out of a frustration with some of the unfortunate side effects of many growth management efforts.