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Best
P2 Opportunities Links
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LUTRAQ Reports
A listing of eleven on-line, technical reports documenting its creation of a plan for community grow...
Sample Codes and Ordinances
Model codes and ordinances other communities have used to implement sustainable development.
Smart Growth Policy Database
This database highlights numerous policies and programs that states and localities nationwide have i...
The Energy Yardstick: Using PLACE3S to Create Sust...
PLACES3S is an urban planning method designed to help communities discern an effective path toward s...
NOTE: [PDF] links require the Acrobat Reader from Adobe.
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P2 and Sustainable Community Development: P2 Options
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Pollution Prevention
and Community Growth
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No matter who initiates a community process to address rapid
growth, it must begin with an effort to build a common, accurate
understanding of the problem. This step requires thorough consideration
of what defines the community and its various members, which interests
are critical to the effort's success, and how they might be engaged.
Once communication among diverse community members is established,
they can begin to discuss their perceptions of the problem. At
this early stage, it may be necessary to sort through the facts
and beliefs underlying various perceptions, ultimately developing
a shared understanding of the community's situation
(Growth Management Toolkit).
Most solutions to sprawl and related pollution problems fall
into three categories:
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The
roots of sprawl and inefficient growth in large cities lie largely
in decisions dating back to when they were small towns.
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Resource land protection mechanisms include:
- land purchases
- differential taxation programs
- conservation easements
- transfer and purchase of development rights
- right-to-farm laws
- exclusive use zoning
- critical area protection programs
- minimum setback zones (for construction near wells)
- riparian buffers
- high density urban development
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Actions taken:
- President Bush is taking up the call to fully
fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which directs money
from off-shore drilling revenues to the nation's parklands
- Park City, Utah, approved a $10 million land
preservation bond with 77% support, to allow the local government
to raise sales taxes for green space protection and developer
incentives.
- Former Vice-President Gore developed a livability
agenda while in office, part of which proposed $9.5 million
in bond authority for investments by state and local governments
for preserving green space, creating or restoring urban parks,
protecting water quality, and cleaning up brownfields.
- Ventura, California, passed legislation forbidding
the county to rezone land for development without vote approval
(http://www.thetribunenews.com/stories0500/36267.htm).
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Reducing
Vehicle Miles Traveled
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The numerous approaches to limiting the amount
of time and money invested in driving fall into two camps:
- increasing the supply of alternatives
- decreasing the demand or the need to drive.
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Actions taken:
- A new light-rail line in Littleton
and Englewood, Colorado, has led to an increase in property
values and in development of a new pedestrian-oriented,
mixed-use City Center
- The 50-year land use and transportation
plan adopted by Portland Metro incorporates "transit-oriented"
community design policies
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Revitalizing urban areas is a complex undertaking,
successful tools include:
- incentives to reinvest in existing communities
and already-developed areas
- encouraged infill developmemt
- brownfield redevelopment
- reuse of historic buildings
- housing policies that encourage mixed-income
housing and down-town investments
- zoning that encourages mixed uses
- infrastructure subsidies where growth is desired
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Actions taken:
- Maryland's Neighborhood Conservationand
Smart Growth initiative of 1997 provides fiscal and
programmatic support for the concentration of growth
in locally designated Priority Funding Areas and for
the preservation of rural lands.
- The Denver Regional Council of Governments,
representing 49 communities, developed an interim Urban
Growth Boundary map for 700 square miles.
- Boulder City Council, Colorado, approved
a measure where residential developers must assign 20%
of their projects to low-income buyers and renters.
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The collective decisions of residents, government
and businesses about where and how to build have a tremendous
impact on the character of communities.
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Actions taken:
- Lawsuit filed against the Small Business
Administration for lending programs that allegedly contribute
to urban sprawl
- The 1996 Executive Order 13006 directing
federal agencies to give first consideration to locating
facilities in downtown districts instead of suburbs
- The location efficient mortgage (LEM)
piloted in the Seattle market as a program designed to
make owning a home more affordable for those who live
and work in Seattle.
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Promoting smart infrastructure can curb sprawl. Options sensitive
to the costs associated with infratructure include:
- Impact fees on developers to help defray infrastructure costs
- Incentives for developers who incorporate managed growth into
their plans and projects
- Pooling resources among communities, perhaps building one
large sewage treatment plant for both
- Supporting brownfields legislation that encourages the reuse
of existing development and infrastructure
- Establishing guidelines for the water use and chemical applications
on new golf courses
- Promoting green buildings
- Encouraging government buildings to utilize recycled components,
solar energy, water-efficient fixtures, etc.
- Clustered development or high density urban level development
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Actions taken:
- Coloradans for Responsible Growth developed
a ballot proposal where large cities and counties would
designate growth areas, but only where local governments
can realistically extend roads, water, and sewer services
within the next ten years.
- The Twin Cities have a tax base sharing
scheme where 40% of the increase in commercial and industrial
property tax revenues since 1971 is pooled and then distributed.
- The city of Austin, Texas, established
a desired development zone; outside the zone, fees for water
and sewage would be up to 50% higher
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| Many model industrial and residential
communities are demonstrating the feasibility of tackling multiple
sustainable growth and P2 issues at once. Highlighting numerous
efficient design features in one community--such as energy-efficient
lighting, water-efficient plumbing, services within walking distance,
and xeriscaping (landscaping with plants requiring minimal water)--not
only conserves resources, but provides an invaluable educational
and awareness tool. |
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