George R, Grasser, who represents Partners for a Livable Western New York on the Empire State Future coalition, has maintained a keen interest in planning, growth and development issues for a long time. He's practiced real estate law for 35 years, and had a statewide practice in creating condominiums and homeowners associations.
In 2002 he changed careers to become a real estate consultant, a developer of infill housing, and the president and chief executive officer of Partners for a Livable Western New York, a not-for-profit organization formed to improve land use and the built environment in Western New York communities.
He presently heads companies developing a 12-unit condominium in Chautauqua and the Gardens at Oxbow, Western New York's first new urbanist project, a 23-home development in the Village of Lewiston. Mr. Grasser is a frequent lecturer on zoning, land use, condominium law, growth management, Smart Growth, new urbanism and the ethics of land use.
Speaking about the challenges of Smart Growth promotion, Mr. Grasser stresses that "one of the most urgent areas is education, with the expected result that municipalities change their zoning to permit smarter development, for example higher density, walkable neighborhoods, mixed-use, narrower residential streets, et cetera."
The state, he adds, "is not presently forcing the issue on this. We need state direction to require action, and such direction should include educational sessions for elected officials and their constituents."
What is his hope for Empire State Future? "(1) Direct state legislation and administrative action to projects and policies consistent with smart growth principles and practices; (2) Give stature to the smart growth movement, both on a state and on a local level; and (3) Provide a venue for the exchange of information and ideas between municipalities and regions."
Currently serving on the Board of Advisors of the Daemen College Center for Sustainable Development and Community Involvement and on the Town of Clarence Inter-municipal Committee, Mr. Grasser is the former co-chair of the Committee on Government Structure and Operations of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, a group that was instrumental in improving the City of Buffalo's permitting process.
Unfortunately at present "there is virtually no smart growth in the region -- except in a couple of isolated instances," according to Mr. Grasser. Hopefully persistent citizen involvement like his will change that state of affairs in the not too distant future.
