792 ADDRESSES AND STATE PAPERS

be derived from increased assessments, but with a glance toward the
future development and welfare of the entire State. The greatest prob-
lem facing us all today is that of the urban areas, the vast cities that
become more impacted by the day. The only feasible answer seems to
be an increased emphasis on the planning and orderly development
of newly populated areas in a manner that will allow people to live,
work and thrive in surroundings which will not turn into the slums of
tomorrow. The capital to plan, develop, build and maintain such
population centers must be from private, not public, sources. This is
so not only because of the great burden now being placed on public
resources, but because it is the heart of our economic system, a system
which we must encourage to tackle this problem or face a continuing
cycle of decay in our urban areas.

There are those who take advantage of the preferential assessment,
and of this we are all aware. It was not intended for those other than
bona fide farmers, but no one can deny that the preferential treatment
has been instrumental in allowing the development of new cities and
planned communities within our State. Cities do not spring up over-
night. Communities are not created in a matter of days. Sewerage,
water and educational facilities do not appear the moment land is
rezoned. Roads and utilities equipment are not created as soon as
land is sold for over seven times its assessed value.

The development of such communities requires vast capital outlays,
years of planning, inventories of land and the adoption of master
plans for zoning to provide for future land use compatible with the
aims of a more orderly environment.

Government needs an even longer period than private investors
to adequately provide the services and facilities essential to the suc-
cess of orderly development. The financial commitment necessary
cannot be made until the land is zoned and the planned use is im-
minent. The bill at one point included provisions which would have
recognized the above problems and provided for their consideration.
Unfortunately, these were not included in the bill as adopted.

If no preferential assessment is available to those interested in new
cities and communities while the land is being held pending the com-
pletion of all necessary preliminary arrangements, in all likelihood
the process of acquiring and holding land in large blocks will become
so expensive that efforts in this direction will come to a standstill. But
the lack of preferential treatment will not inhibit the speculator, who
is interested only in having his improvements erected and then getting