Chapter 2 Exercise:
Biltmore Farmstead Proposal

The following is information that can be used for the Biltmore Farmstead exercise, found on page 29 of the book, Planning and Community Development, (Tyler and Ward, 2011).

Additional information on exercise

The Biltmore Farmstead exercise asks students to think conceptually, and yet through its three questions to couple a consideration of various concepts with practical concerns. It encourages students to refer to other sections of the book.

The first question suggests that there typically are alternative ideas for any proposal, and one should not be satisfied with the first idea, but do some brainstorming for alternatives. (Note: This lends itself to a class effort.) After alternatives are put forward, criteria should be established for evaluating those alternatives, and an optimal solution selected based on those criteria.

Question 2 looks at the important issue of whether a development property is best in the hands of local government or in private sector ownership. (This topic is explored in Chapter 9; see especially pages 130 and 138.) The simple answer is that in private ownership the city would be able to collect revenues (property taxes) from the property. But how does the city make the property desirable for private purchase. You can assume the city had already purchased the Farmstead property, as described in the exercise, or assume the city was considering whether or not to purchase the property from the Biltmore family. The Farmstead property is very desirable for a number of reasons--it's central location, its rich soil, the fact it had never been built on, even because of its stand of mature oak trees at its northern edge. The decision on what to propose should reflect this pristine character to some extent.

Question 3 is intended to have students recognize the financial aspect in exploring alternatives. Absolute costs of each proposal would be impossible to assess for this exercise. However, there should be a recognition of comparative costs, and what aspects make various alternatives more or less expensive. Chapter 16 examines local government financing in a general way and how new projects may be included in a capital improvements program.