INVEST IN ‘QUALITY OF PLACE’

A report issued this month by the Governor’s Council on Maine’s Quality of Place confirms what most already knew: Maine is not Anywhere, U.S.A. Somewhat new – though already noted in the 2006 Brookings Institution’s study of the state’s economy – is that Maine’s blend of pretty and historic village centers; harbors, riverfronts and lakes; and fields, farms and vast forests is very marketable.

But without investment, this economic asset will tarnish. Both the Brookings report and now the “People, Place, and Prosperity” report on quality of place make this point. The latter repeats the Brookings report’s dramatic language as it argues that Maine’s village, town and city centers, “its regional hubs and their downtowns … cannot often enough stem the flow of suburbanization to truly revitalize themselves. These centers like the green landscape cry out for investment.”

That cry is not being heeded. Any homeowner planning to sell would see the wisdom of paying for necessary repairs and upgrades, knowing the investment will be recouped in a higher sale price. The same logic applies to creating funds to improve Maine downtowns, restore historic buildings, and protect farms, fields and forest from unchecked development. Maine’s quality of place is something “that people around the country and the world value. As the rest of the country becomes more crowded and homogenous and polluted, [this quality is] what sets Maine apart,” the report states.

Just as the shrewd homeowner is able to pass on the cost of the new furnace, driveway resurfacing and paint to the buyer, the state should be able to pass on the burden of new taxes or fees to tourists, or residents with discretionary funds to spend on travel. An increase in the lodging tax, suggested in the report, is an obvious source to consider. A higher tax on second homes might also be considered.

The quality of place report takes pains to show that such investment is not aimed at keeping towns and cities, fields and forests looking like the postcard version of Maine. Maintaining and enhancing the quality of place is wise, the report concludes, because it lets the state compete for people – those looking for a place to retire, to visit, or to settle in the prime of life. Those people have the “energy and skills [to] start and sustain businesses in the new innovative sectors that Maine has targeted for future growth.” The report states that Maine’s work force is expected to stop growing after 2012, a loss of critical mass that would have devastating effects on government, communities, schools and businesses.

Valuing and investing in the quality of place is a new way of thinking for Maine. “In the old way, Maine’s surroundings were nice but not relevant to economic development. Today, Maine’s surroundings remain nice, but are now the very key to our economic future,” the report concludes. Much can be done to sustain the quality of place without spending much money – land use planning, tax credits for downtown and historic structure development, negotiating conservation easements on key properties come to mind – but new spending is necessary to move this work along.