The Development Value of Natural Coastal Wetlands: A Framework for Analysis of Residential Values

摘要

Private decisions to develop coastal wetlands have recently been constrained by both Federal and state permit requirements. Regulatory agencies are explicitly directed to weigh the benefits and the costs of alternative wetland use patterns before granting permits to alter natural wetlands for residential or commercial uses. This paper demonstrates how benefits for developed wetland areas can be estimated using a simple methodology and readily available data from Virginia Beach, Virginia. The use of such benefit estimates is then demonstrated for a hypothetical permit decision to illustrate the practical use of the methodology for developing one piece of information for decision making.