The CARRYING CAPACITY of the LAND

The "Carrying Capacity of the Environment" is an important consideration in Conservation Planning. That seems obvious, but no one knows how carrying capacity is determined. No one knows if the carrying capacity of urban Norwalk is greater than that of rural Weston. One conservationist will say that the carrying capacity of the land is reached when 80% of our second growth forests is cleared, while another will draw the line at 60%. All conservationists will agree with doomsday urgency that carrying capacity is breached when there is no more natural environment left for us to be concerned about. In real terms, a 600 foot square of Connecticut bedrock will support an Empire State Building, the only problem being where to run the pipes. When there is no place left to run the pipes, that's when we all agree that the carrying capacity has been breached.

In zoning terms carrying capacity is easily determined as: one house for every residential zone unit, one car for every three customers in the store, one parking space for every three seats in the restaurant, and enough impervious road surface to access the properties, etc.. Alternatively, carrying capacity may be determined by the State Health Department rule of thumb that Connecticut soils (diverse as they may be) can accommodate one residential septic system for every half acre in the State - or the limiting capacity of the sewage treatment plant - or the availability of safe drinking water - or - or , etc.. Whether another dwelling will fit on the property is a question that inevitably falls to the creative skill of land developers and the real estate industry. Thus, like it or not, in our present regulatory climate, carrying capacity always defaults to zoning envelope determinants.

The scientists among us may feel that carrying capacity should be determined by environmental criteria like: perc rates, hydrological permeability, soil types, water tables, gradients of ledge, practical separations of wells and septic systems, the availability of public sewers; and eventually (if anyone wants to go that far) how much natural habitat is needed for snail darters to make out. Some radical may even ask how much space is needed for a family of humans to exist. Engineers have some serious work to do before carrying capacity can be determined on any basis. If we found out by application of environmental science that our land will support twice as many houses on every lot - our conservationist souls would probably not want to hear about it - not until some greedy real estate broker tells us that our back yards are worth half of a million dollars apiece. That is when we realize that there is a supply and demand correlation between what zoning permits, and whether the man will pay that half a million dollars for a place to build his glue factory - or trailer park - or yuppie's starter castle. It may be that carrying capacity must be defined as the preferred environment that each of us defines subjectively - when we say: "This is our land and this is the environment we wish to pass on to our kids."