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Residents should be able to walk to work and to school, as well as to shopping and recreation areas and places of worship, says Alex Graziani, executive director of the Smart Growth Partnership of Westmoreland County.

"And if you can do these things, you're probably living in Ligonier," he told members of the Ligonier Valley Chamber of Commerce at their 55th annual dinner meeting Thursday at the Four Points Hotel by Sheraton, near Greensburg.

Graziani reviewed the principles advocated by the community-based nonprofit that started in 2001 at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg with a mission of economic growth and revitalization.

Those concepts include mixed-land uses, compact building designs, walkable neighborhoods and a range of housing opportunities beyond single-family dwellings.

The agency also promotes distinctive, attractive communities that offer a sense of place while preserving open space, farmland and natural areas.

Using Ligonier as an example -- with residential, commercial and other space coexisting for decades -- Graziani noted, "that's not the way it's done anymore."

He said current zoning laws in many municipalities segregate land use and shy away from density in favor of large, single-family lots with no commercial or other uses allowed in the mix.

"Villages like Ligonier would be illegal to build in places like Unity or Penn townships," he said. "We have got to find ways to allow for other housing opportunities."

Why?

Because with shifted demographics and an aging population, the number of county residents has declined from 376,461 in 1970 to 370,000 in 2000, he said.

And, at the same time, development has dramatically increased.

"Despite all of the development that has occurred over the last 30 years, we have actually lost people," he said. "We've gained 20,000 new households, but we've lost 6,000 people."

Development also has greatly increased "the human footprint" in the county, meaning the amount of developed land is now more than 77,000 acres.

"We've lost population, but we've consumed more acres to do it," Graziani said.

"And it's taking us longer to get everywhere," he added, citing traffic congestion as a major problem in many parts of the county. "As we get older, many of us will be driving-challenged. Yet we're building for the automobile-dependent."

With more and bigger roads, children will have to be driven just to visit friends across the street.

"Isn't it ironic that a country that's concerned about its weight drives to a fitness center to ride a stationary bike?" he asked.

Graziani urged chamber members to play an active role in local government decisions.

"It's the small-business person, the entrepreneur, who makes it happen. You are the driving force," he said. "And as taxpayers, you need to demand that your elected officials pay attention to these things. Because you're paying the freight."

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