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Sprawl Watch
Volume 5, Number 2 - January 8, 2003 State and Local News
Central Cities Washington D.C. Mayor Anthony A. Williams plans to open his second term with a goal to recruit 100,000 residents to Washington and a vow to spend much of the next four years preparing the city and its government for their arrival. Although central cities generally are not growing, officials say that Washington could buck that trend through an aggressive housing policy. Williams became the first mayor to fund the city's housing production trust fund, and 24,000 new housing units -- nearly half of them affordable -- are in the pipeline for development in the next several years. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64278-2003Jan1.html Farmland California Farmers band together to stave off sprawl. In California’s Central Valley, a strategy for steering growth takes shape. The Central Valley is expected to nearly double in population over the next 20 years. Developers have been paving over about 10,000 acres of valley farmland for new homes every year, and Madera and a string of farming communities are in danger of sprawling together to create a 300-mile long "linear city" along Highway 99 between Sacramento and Bakersfield. http://www.hcn.org/servlets/hcn.Article?article_id=13581 Historic Preservation Alabama Homes in historic sections of Alabama cities, such as Birmingham's Forest Park, are increasing in value far more rapidly than homes in other areas, according to a report released Sunday by the Alabama Historical Commission. http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_standard.xsl?/base/news/104184814739610.xml Parking Philadelphia The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Commentary on preserving the character of Center City, asks the question of what parking lots and garages do to the city in the long run. Construction of additional garages influences the choice of modes for travel into and within the city, the quality of life in the city, and ultimately the desire of people to live in or visit Center City. These issues are still largely misunderstood in Philadelphia. http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/editorial/4855806.htm Regional Interests vs. Local Control Minnesota The first shots in a historic showdown between Lake Elmo and the Metropolitan Council were fired Thursday in St. Paul with an attorney for the city saying it would be "wrong and dangerous" for the Met Council to dictate how a city must grow. The battle, being argued before an administrative law judge during the next few days, pits regional interests against local control. The Met Council says Lake Elmo's resistance to development puts pressure on already burdened neighboring cities and townships; Lake Elmo argues the Met Council has no authority to force it to accept proposed sewer lines and, therefore, more growth. http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/news/politics/4862901.htm Transportation Connecticut The state's first comprehensive strategy for easing gridlock is now in the state legislature's hands, but some officials said they worry it might become a victim of bad timing. The state's Transportation Strategy Board delivered its final report recommending $5.5 billion in improvements to rail service, roads, airports and harbors over the next 10 years. http://www.ctnow.com/news/local/hc-tranplan0107.artjan07,0,6335266.story?coll=hc%2Dheadlines%2Dlocal The Connecticut Transportation Strategy Board issued its final report detailing a $4.9 billion plan over the next decade to increase cargo transport, expand public transit networks and, above all, reduce congestion on Interstates 95 and 84. ("Connecticut: Rowland Is Wary About Cost of $4.9 Billion Transit Plan, The New York Times, 1/6) Missouri The Department of Transportation's new proposals on how to divide road funds between urban and rural areas are pitting Kansas City and outstate Missouri against St. Louis. http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/4887902.htm New Jersey Gov. James E. McGreevey is expected to unveil a number of initiatives at a transportation summit today, but will leave unanswered how to finance them. The next 18 months are critical ones for New Jersey's transportation system. The federal and state laws that provide multi-year funding for transportation projects are expiring and new versions will have to be drawn up. http://www.nj.com/statehouse/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1041837320138960.xml Regional Interests vs. Local Control Minnesota The first shots in a historic showdown between Lake Elmo and the Metropolitan Council were fired Thursday in St. Paul with an attorney for the city saying it would be "wrong and dangerous" for the Met Council to dictate how a city must grow. The battle, being argued before an administrative law judge during the next few days, pits regional interests against local control. The Met Council says Lake Elmo's resistance to development puts pressure on already burdened neighboring cities and townships; Lake Elmo argues the Met Council has no authority to force it to accept proposed sewer lines and, therefore, more growth. http://www.twincities.com/mld/pioneerpress/news/politics/4862901.htm Water California California policymakers have long been obsessed with water, and 2003 will be no different, says California Planning & Development Report Associate Editor John Krist. A dwindling supply of Colorado River water and a scheduled update of the State Water Plan ensure that water will remain the preeminent natural resource issue in California this year. http://www.cp-dr.com/binn/main.taf?function=&type=detail§ion_id=2597 Colorado The multibillion-dollar water project, the Colorado River Restoration Project, would siphon off water at the Utah border, pump it up 4,500 feet in elevation then send it 200 miles back to growing Front Range communities. The estimated cost would be $5 billion for about 400,000 acre-feet - enough for about 400,000 homes. http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/state/article/0,1299,DRMN_21_1656133,00.html New Release The latest Neal Peirce Column " Committed Foundations: Smart Growth's Ace In The Hole". http://www.postwritersgroup.com/archives/peir1223.htm "Missed Connections: Solving the Crisis in Air Travel " this is the first in a series of reports from the Reconnecting America project examining the current crisis in intercity travel in the United States and recommending a more economically stable and integrated system of travel for the country. This first report focuses on the fiscal crisis affecting the nation's airlines and the cuts in air service that have occurred as the airlines have attempted to respond. To download a copy of the report visit http://www.reconnectingamerica.org. Sprawl Watch Volume 5, Number 1 - January 2, 2003 Growth Policy
Virginia As the new General Assembly session approaches, Fairfax County is preparing to take on powerful developers in its quest to seize control of growth and obtain more funding for new roads and schools. At issue are two proposed measures that would boost the county's leverage in dealing with builders. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A52198-2002Dec29.html Land Use Planning Maryland The state has bought the development rights to 98 acres in the Piney Run Rural Legacy area for $328,300, an action that will safeguard farmland in northwestern Baltimore County. http://www.sunspot.net/business/realestate/bal-md.land30dec30,0,7306895.story?coll=bal%2Dlocal%2Dheadlines North Carolina A statewide effort led by the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources and backed by strong contributions from Triad conservationists aims to have a plan for each region to preserve the best of what remains at risk. http://www.news-record.com/news/local/gso/enviro02.htm Population Iowa A new U.S. Census Bureau summary of major trends in the 20th century finds that Iowa had the least growth in population of any U.S. state over the course of that century. It started out as the nation's 10th most populous state, but slid to 30th place, the worst such skid in the nation. http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/3561878.html Transportation Michigan Lawmakers and mass transit proponents, stung by departing Gov. John Engler's veto of legislation aimed at overhauling mass transit in Detroit and its suburbs, vow to revive the plan this year. The bill took business leaders and lawmakers more than 18 months of torturous negotiations to assemble: Now, the process must begin again in the legislature. Engler ended his 12 years as governor by giving the cold shoulder to the proposed Detroit Area Regional Transit Authority (DARTA) he had said -- last spring -- he'd support. http://www.detnews.com/2003/metro/0301/02/a01-50110.htm National News Conference The 2nd Annual New Partners for Smart Growth conference is coming to the Sheraton in New Orleans, Louisiana, January 30 - February 1, 2003. The focus of the conference is forming new networks and creating new levels of understanding among multiple smart-growth interests. The conference will provide education and resources, as well as cutting-edge implementation tools and networking opportunities. Early registration ends January 9, 2003. Please don't wait. To get more information and register on-line, go to http://www.outreach.psu.edu/C&I/SmartGRowth/ or contact Lisa Nisenson at (202) 566-2880. Highway Safety Motor vehicle crash deaths on U.S. roads exceed 40,000 annually, totaling more than 3 million since the automobile was introduced. This is the leading killer of Americans 1 to 35 years old. Yet society responds with something akin to a collective shrug. Opportunities are being missed to reduce the losses, even as the toll mounts at the rate of 115 crash deaths per day, on average. http://www.highwaysafety.org/srpdfs/sr3710.pdf Brownfields Training Grants The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is accepting proposals for the National Brownfields Job Training Grants. Proposals are due on January 24, 2003. Obtaining Proposal Guidelines: The proposal guidelines are available via the Internet: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/. For further information contact: The U.S.EPA's Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, Office of Brownfields Cleanup and Redevelopment, (202) 566-2777. New Position Massachusetts Conservation Law Foundation President Doug Foy has agreed to join the Romney Administration in the newly created position of Chief of Commonwealth Development. He will have oversight authority over transportation, environment and housing. Specifically, the cabinet secretaries in charge of those areas will be reporting to him and he will be setting policy and ensuring that these agencies are working together to create a sustainable future. It is unprecedented to have an environmental advocate of Doug's experience and stature step into such a role in the administration of an American state. Good Luck Doug! New Releases Study highlights Bus Rapid Transit The Paris-based International Energy Agency (IEA) has published a 188-page report "Bus Systems for the Future: Achieving Sustainable Transport Worldwide" . . . BRT systems in Latin America are revolutionizing urban travel. In about a dozen cities, they provide a fast, reliable and efficient service conveniently and reliably moving up to 10 times as many people as cars while covering their costs. The "model" BRT system in Curitiba, Brazil, is covered in detail as are systems in Bogota, Columbia, and Quito, Ecuador. Others are in operation in Ottawa and Pittsburgh with systems planned or under development in Los Angeles; Eugene, Oregon; Orlando; and Cleveland. http://www.masstransitmag.com/script/search.asp?SearchSiteURL=/articles/2002/mt_12-02/mt_12-02_04.htm Op-Ed In the Boston Globe Op-Ed "Growth Can be Green", Aaron Gornstein and Jim Gomes agree that the challenges of ensuring affordable housing and protecting natural resources are considerable and it is possible for housing and environmental advocates to find common ground. http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/002/oped/Growth_can_be_green+.shtml Sprawl Watch Volume 4, Number 46 - December 18, 2002 State and Local News Florida Gov. Jeb Bush is preparing to revamp state government to tackle what he's described as the biggest disappointment of his first term - his administration's inability to get a grip on Florida's mushrooming growth. http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/local/4754871.htm Georgia A band of neighbors figured there was only one thing to do when their Midtown community was threatened by Atlantic Station and other big projects. They hired a land-use planner. The goal was to protect their bungalow community near Georgia Tech from speculators looking to buy bargain property and develop condos or densely packed housing and retail centers. http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/business/horizon/1202/16edaw.html Impact Fees Arkansas State real estate and construction associations regularly fight the adoption of government fees on development projects. But they’ve found a proposed impact fee law they can support. http://www.nwanews.com/adg/story_arkansas.php?storyid=15953 Land Preservation Maryland The Board of Public Works meets today to decide whether to preserve almost 25,000 acres of Maryland forest. The second-largest land deal in the state's history -- Maryland's forestry industry is grudgingly backing the $22 million proposal, even though they say it couldn't have come at a worse time. http://www.sunspot.net/news/local/bal-md.kopp17dec17,0,1653258.story?coll=bal%2Dlocal%2Dheadlines http://www.sunspot.net/news/local/bal-md.preserve16dec16,0,919887.story?coll=bal%2Dlocal%2Dheadlines Military Bases Oklahoma The final draft of the Oklahoma Military Base Closure Prevention Task Force report is expected to be released Dec. 31 to legislators. The Pentagon estimates it will save roughly $3.6 billion annually by closing unneeded military bases and as much as $21 billion over the next 10 years. In addition, the Pentagon stated in its 2005 mandate that 25 percent of the remaining 398 major bases need to be cut to achieve its restructuring objective. http://www.newsok.com/cgi-bin/show_article?ID=961131&TP=getarticle Open Space Protection Massachusetts Arguing that the land is too environmentally important to allow it to be turned into shopping malls, subdivisions, and parking lots, the state announced it will protect nearly 64,000 acres in 11 communities northwest of Boston. http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/346/metro/State_to_protect_64_000_acres_in_11_towns+.shtml Transportation California Sacramento Bee columnist Dan Walters: "Highway promises crumble as transit accounts are raided". In May, as he symbolically began construction on a new Department of Transportation building in Los Angeles, Gov. Gray Davis hailed it as part of a "transportation renaissance" that he had begun. http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/story/5610821p-6587353c.html Colorado Incoming state Senate President John Andrews wants to undo the compromise transportation legislation passed in May in order to redirect funds from mass transit back into highways. http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_1612624,00.html Water California Interior Secretary Gale Norton refused to cut California any slack in its latest water crisis, saying she will reduce the state's water supply Jan. 1 unless there's an 11th-hour agreement among the state's warring factions to curb consumption. The state for decades has used more than its legal share of water from the Colorado River. Under a settlement brokered by Bruce Babbitt, California was given until 2015 to gradually scale back its use. It was given until Dec. 31, 2002, to finalize a blueprint for making those cuts -- or face a "hard landing," or immediate reduction in its river allocation. http://www.sacbee.com/content/politics/ca/story/5621887p-6598064c.html National News Gated Communities In cities and suburbs from New York to Los Angeles, wealthy homeowners no longer are the only ones retreating behind gates. The desire to lock out the outside world cuts across all income groups, according to the first Census Bureau survey to measure how many Americans live in walled or gated communities. http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2002-12-15-gated-usat_x.htm Career Change Maryland’s "Smart Growth" governor Parris N. Glendening has announced that his "next career" will focus on promoting "smart growth" policies across the nation, but he declined to say whether he has lined up a specific job. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A37822-2002Dec10.html Smart Growth Profile Ohio David Beach founder of EcoCity Cleveland is hailed as one of the most important and influential environmental advocates in the region, if not the entire state. EcoCity Cleveland, the small but influential nonprofit organization founded by Beach, celebrated its 10th anniversary this year. http://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/1039861887316410.xml Sprawl Watch Volume 4, Number 45 - December 16, 2002 State and Local News
Costs of Sprawl Georgia In many cases across the country the price of sprawl shows in commuting costs. Transporation can outstrip housing costs. http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/business/horizon/1202/09commute.html Housing California California housing battle creates an odd alliance Citing the need for 'smart growth,' the Sierra Club sides with a developer. http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20021210/4686873s.htm Land Use Georgia The Chattahoochee Hill Country Alliance a nonprofit group of landowners in south Fulton is working to master-plan 40,000 acres to protect the rural flavor of the area from inevitable development. Three adjacent counties are interested in joining the alliance. http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/business/horizon/1202/09chathill.html National News Rural Sprawl In Joplin, Mo., and elsewhere, an influx of newcomers alters landscape - and taxes septic systems. In their quest to get away from it all, Americans are gobbling up land faster than their population numbers are growing. They've moved to the suburbs, and built beyond the suburbs. Now, they're pushing into America's remote countryside. http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/1210/p03s01-ussc.html Crime Several criminologists say a new report by Morgan Quinto, a private publishing company, ranking the most dangerous cities is flawed. "Morgan Quitno computed the rankings by using rates for six of the seven offenses -- murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault, burglary and motor vehicle theft -- excluding larceny theft. James Alan Fox, a sociologist and professor of criminal justice at Northeastern University in Boston, said the report is 'a rehash of readily available crime statistics.' He said that cities' wide variations in size, demographics, geography and economic conditions make comparisons of their relative safety questionable." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A28590-2002Dec8.html To find the report link to: http://www.morganquitno.com/cit03pop.htm#25 New Releases In the culmination of a massive data-gathering and sorting effort, the Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance has issued a report on the "vital signs" of the city's neighborhoods. The report lays out a baseline of data on many indicators of the health of those neighborhoods, setting a course to "measure progress towards a shared vision for strong Baltimore neighborhoods and a thriving city over time." In embarking on this project, Baltimore joins over 200 cities like Boston, Jacksonville, and Portland who have similar efforts already underway. Report is available at: http://www.bnia.org/indicators_city-wide.html New from the Brookings Institution Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy. " Growth in the Heartland: Challenges and Opportunities for Missouri " this report provides the most comprehensive body of research yet assembled on growth and development patterns in a bellwether Midwestern state. Overall, the report documents that Missouri's population is spreading out to an extreme degree that imposes substantial fiscal, economic, environmental, and social costs on communities and taxpayers. Capping the report is a fiscally prudent set of recommendations intended to help the state give communities the tools, incentives, and opportunities to grow in more efficient and fiscally responsible ways. Available online: http://www.brookings.edu/dybdocroot/es/urban/missouri/abstract.htm The latest from the Elm Street Writers Group "Who is the Smart Growth Leader? Hint: It’s not Portland The answer: Vancouver, British Columbia, the Pacific Northwest's uncontested leader in Smart Growth. Vancouver's metropolitan area consumes less land per person. Its transit system is more widely used. And its downtown renaissance is more profound than any other city in the region. http://mlui.org/growthmanagement/fullarticle.asp?fileid=16377 Neal Peirce’s lastest column, "Cascading Billions For Transporation: Where’s the Accountablility?" Transportation aid should be tied to smarter land use. http://www.postwritersgroup.com/archives/peir1202.htm Sprawl Watch Volume 4, Number 44 - December 9, 2002 City Consolidation Kansas In an election with 71 percent voter turnout, Countryside, KS voters decided that their six-square-block city will become the first city in Kansas since 1960 to consolidate with another. http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascitystar/news/4659171.htm Land Preservation Arizona Four years after voters agreed to set aside $20 million annually to help protect State Trust land from new development, only about one-third of the available money has been spent and just five parcels of land have been purchased for preservation. The money trickles out so slowly in part because the law requires a buyer to put up at least half the land's cost. http://www.arizonarepublic.com/news/articles/1202growingsmarter02.html Land Use California Activists, landowners are increasingly at odds over developing 23,000 acres (Rancho Mission Viejo )in southern Orange County. Ranch owners, and developers from Arizona, have offered to set aside nearly two-thirds of the acreage as permanent open space, in exchange for permission to build half a dozen communities similar to Ladera Ranch and other planned communities. Along with federal, state and local regulators, they are trying to implement an unprecedented series of concurrent approvals that would win them exemptions from the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act and other project-by-project permit laws, while donating large blocks of habitat. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/orange/la-me-rancho2dec02,0,3233248.story?coll=la%2Deditions%2Dorange Curtis P. Stiles and Joseph Anthony Perez provide a citizen's primer on recognizing and fighting sprawl in Ventura County, California. http://www.staronline.com/vcs/opinion/article/0,1375,VCS_125_1576661,00.html South Carolina Richland County officials and the public will get their first look at much-anticipated rules that could make reality out of the vision behind the Town and Country land-use plan. Town and Country was designed to guide growth in the county for the next 20 years. Its rules could control how development looks and where growth occurs. http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/4646464.htm Wisconsin La Crosse, Wisconsin is gearing up for a new comprehensive plan with 18 objectives, in which land use figures prominently. http://www.lacrossetribune.com/articles/2002/12/02/news/3vision.txt Marine Base California Voters in March rejected the county's plans to transform the former Marine base into a major commercial airport. Voters rezoned the 4,700-acre base for a large park and other uses. A state panel wants to keep in place building restrictions on 14,000 acres of prime real estate around the closed military air base. Developers want restrictions lifted on the property near Orange County's 'golden triangle. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-triangle2dec02,0,2606491.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dcalifornia Transportation Florida Two years ago, Florida voters amended the state constitution to require the Legislature to finance and construct a state-wide high-speed rail network. But as Florida lawmakers find themselves in the same circumstances facing other states as they struggle to balance budget priorities amid an economic slump, it remains unclear whether the estimated $1 billion to $2 billion first phase of the rail project will be elbowed aside in a battle over scarce dollars. http://www.christiansciencemonitor.com/2002/1202/p02s01-usec.html Virginia Federal Transit Administrator urged Virginia leaders to diminish their $4 billion dream of extending Metro to Dulles International Airport because it would cost too much and carry too few riders. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5589-2002Dec3.html Walmart Virginia Northern Virginians take Walmart on again. On the slopes of the Shenandoah River, Wal-Mart plans to build a 24-hour, 184,000-square-foot superstore in Front Royal. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61610-2002Dec1.html National News George Will’s column in the Washington Post looks at SUV’s and CAFE Standards. The 'WWJD?' preachers say SUVs are polluting God's creation. Others say SUVs harm the war against terrorism because they burn too much gasoline, thereby benefiting oil-exporting Middle East regimes that support terrorism. And critics have said SUVs are unfairly safe because, being big and heavy, they protect passengers in crashes with the sort of smaller vehicles that environmentalists want to shoehorn Americans into...Thanks to better technology and sensible regulations, today's new cars produce less than 1 percent of the emissions produced by 1970 cars...Jesus reportedly arrived in Jerusalem on a fuel-guzzling and high-pollution conveyance, a donkey." http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48809-2002Nov27.html New Releases The Federal Highway Administration’s Congestion and Traffic Web Site. The site will answer the questions: What is traffic congestion? Is congestion the same everywhere? What's being done in my state related to traffic congestion? What are some of the ways to mitigate congestion? Where can I go for more help? http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/congestion/ |