Bill Links Funding For Development To Lower Emissions
By: ANA CAMPOY: The Wall Street Journal Online
California lawmakers passed a bill aimed at cutting carbon-dioxide emissions by rewarding cities and counties that prevent urban sprawl and improve public transportation.
The bill's proponents and transportation experts say it is the first measure in the nation to link government transportation funding with urban planning and CO2-reduction goals. Senate Bill 375 contends that cutting back on driving is as critical in the fight against global warming as producing cleaner fuels and more-efficient vehicles. Transportation experts say they expect the bill to become a model for state and national policy makers.
Under the new bill, regional planning authorities will have to develop realistic plans to meet emission-reduction targets in order to receive transportation funding and lighter regulations for builders. Compact projects built close to public-transportation options are rewarded with fewer regulatory hurdles.
The bill, which was passed Saturday, must be signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Gov. Schwarzenegger's office wouldn't say Monday if he will sign the bill. Proponents of the bill say they are optimistic he will approve it because it was designed to help meet CO2-cutting goals he signed into law in 2006. With passenger vehicles accounting for about 30% of the state's emissions, lowering the number of miles Californians drive is indispensable, said Stanley Young, a spokesman for the Air Resources Board, the agency that implements the 2006 law.
The bill is an example of how environmental concerns -- and the regulatory burdens they entail -- are forcing opposing factions to hammer out compromises. "I call it the coalition of the impossible," said Sen. Darrell Steinberg, the bill's main author. Supporters of the bill include environmentalists, builders, local governments and affordable-housing advocates.
At first, city governments opposed the bill, fearing it would encroach on their authority to determine land use. Home builders said it would raise the costs of building and owning a home. But after tough negotiations and much back-and-forth on the bill's wording, both groups are now among the legislation's supporters. "Every stakeholder gave up some important sacred cows," said Ray Becker, chairman of the California Building Industry Association.
Mr. Becker's group had to accept that regional authorities will do the planning, a practice the group considers more cumbersome than dealing with local officials. At the same time, the bill will streamline the legal process required to erect a building by reducing requirements for environmental studies, among other measures.
Environmentalists agreed to water down stringent protections to undeveloped land originally in the bill, but say the final result is an improvement over existing protection laws. "California made sprawl famous. The bill will turn the corner away from sprawl," said Tom Adams, board president of the California League of Conservation Voters.
The final bill still has some detractors. The state's Chamber of Commerce has said the legislation will impede "California's necessary growth of commerce, industry and housing" and increase frivolous lawsuits.
Sacramento and its surrounding counties offer a glimpse at how the bill might affect regional development if it is implemented. In 2004, the area's regional-planning agency approved a voluntary growth plan that calls for more-compact development and increased public transportation. There are signs that the region is successfully curbing sprawl. The number of apartments and townhomes for sale has risen in the past four years, while the number of subdivisions with single-family homes in big lots dropped, housing data show.
By: ANA CAMPOY: The Wall Street Journal Online
California lawmakers passed a bill aimed at cutting carbon-dioxide emissions by rewarding cities and counties that prevent urban sprawl and improve public transportation.
The bill's proponents and transportation experts say it is the first measure in the nation to link government transportation funding with urban planning and CO2-reduction goals. Senate Bill 375 contends that cutting back on driving is as critical in the fight against global warming as producing cleaner fuels and more-efficient vehicles. Transportation experts say they expect the bill to become a model for state and national policy makers.
Under the new bill, regional planning authorities will have to develop realistic plans to meet emission-reduction targets in order to receive transportation funding and lighter regulations for builders. Compact projects built close to public-transportation options are rewarded with fewer regulatory hurdles.
The bill, which was passed Saturday, must be signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Gov. Schwarzenegger's office wouldn't say Monday if he will sign the bill. Proponents of the bill say they are optimistic he will approve it because it was designed to help meet CO2-cutting goals he signed into law in 2006. With passenger vehicles accounting for about 30% of the state's emissions, lowering the number of miles Californians drive is indispensable, said Stanley Young, a spokesman for the Air Resources Board, the agency that implements the 2006 law.
The bill is an example of how environmental concerns -- and the regulatory burdens they entail -- are forcing opposing factions to hammer out compromises. "I call it the coalition of the impossible," said Sen. Darrell Steinberg, the bill's main author. Supporters of the bill include environmentalists, builders, local governments and affordable-housing advocates.
At first, city governments opposed the bill, fearing it would encroach on their authority to determine land use. Home builders said it would raise the costs of building and owning a home. But after tough negotiations and much back-and-forth on the bill's wording, both groups are now among the legislation's supporters. "Every stakeholder gave up some important sacred cows," said Ray Becker, chairman of the California Building Industry Association.
Mr. Becker's group had to accept that regional authorities will do the planning, a practice the group considers more cumbersome than dealing with local officials. At the same time, the bill will streamline the legal process required to erect a building by reducing requirements for environmental studies, among other measures.
Environmentalists agreed to water down stringent protections to undeveloped land originally in the bill, but say the final result is an improvement over existing protection laws. "California made sprawl famous. The bill will turn the corner away from sprawl," said Tom Adams, board president of the California League of Conservation Voters.
The final bill still has some detractors. The state's Chamber of Commerce has said the legislation will impede "California's necessary growth of commerce, industry and housing" and increase frivolous lawsuits.
Sacramento and its surrounding counties offer a glimpse at how the bill might affect regional development if it is implemented. In 2004, the area's regional-planning agency approved a voluntary growth plan that calls for more-compact development and increased public transportation. There are signs that the region is successfully curbing sprawl. The number of apartments and townhomes for sale has risen in the past four years, while the number of subdivisions with single-family homes in big lots dropped, housing data show.
