By Kimberly Peterson

At its annual meeting held in St. Louis, July 16-20, county leaders kept sustainability issues at the forefront of NACo’s agenda and explored ways to further promote environmental, economic and social balance for America’s counties. In addressing the Sustainability Leadership Team, President-elect Commissioner Vernon Gray, said that his agenda includes assisting counties with sustainable development. NACo’s Sustainability Leadership Team also inaugurated its new Smart Growth Subcommittee and announced its draft Smart Growth Principles. Other highlights included an update on the Joint Center for Sustainable Communities’ activities, city/county partnerships, successful farmland preservation programs, and the role of forests in creating sustainable communities.

On July 18, NACO held a unique, interactive program entitled Building Collaborations for Smarter Growth: A County Environmental Fair. The workshop was designed to help county officials in building effective partnerships and gaining support for "smart" growth policies. Because our country is experiencing a dramatic shift in land use patterns county officials have often been forced into choosing between competing interests. The rapid rise of residential development on the outskirts of town centers and cities has, in many cases, depleted the health of our farmland, our water and air resources, our open and green spaces, and the functionality of our neighborhoods while simultaneously draining local tax bases. The workshop was divided into repeating roundtable discussions to help county officials look in depth at building a community process for smart growth, political tips for implementing smart growth and working with developers.

The Joint Center for Sustainable Communities, a partnership between NACo and the U.S. Conference of Mayors, fosters collaborations between city and counties to solve multi-jurisdictional challenges. In St. Louis, the Joint Center released a new publication, Smart Growth Successes: Counties and Cities Working Together, which profiles six city-county partnerships to manage growth in more sustainable ways. The Joint Center also sponsored a workshop on Strengthening the Sustainability of Local Communities Through Forests. The workshop featured county approaches adopted by Hawaii County (HI) and Lake County (IL) to sustainable forest management. A discussion lead by Ruth McWilliams of the USDA’s Forest Service, a Joint Center partner, explored how urban, suburban and rural counties can better address forest management. The Joint Center and its partners will continue to use the latest tools to bring county officials and mayors together around smart growth and regional cooperation.

Lancaster County (PA) Commissioner Terry Kauffman whose own community is a model of smart growth initiatives, is the new chair of the smart growth subcommittee. The committee’s objectives include coalition building in communities between government, non-profits, chambers of commerce and other community entities. Stressing the importance of peer-to-peer exchange and promoting model communities, the committee will advise the Sustainability Leadership Team and NACo on issues pertaining to smart growth and help county officials achieve wise land use in their own communities.