REDWOOD NEEDLES

Presented by the Sierra Club Redwood Chapter Newsletter, The REDWOOD NEEDLES

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NEW GUIDELINES CALL FOR ACTIONS TO LIMIT GROWTH

The Sierra Club's California/Nevada Regional Conservation Committee has adopted revised Urban Growth Management Policy Guidelines, calling for actions at the state, regional, and local levels to limit the impacts of growth. Current projections indicate that California's population may grow by another 25 million people by the year 2040.

The recommendations include:

• A State Comprehensive Plan, based on analysis of growth projections, environmental constraints, and infrastructure requirements, to guide the conservation and development of the State. The plan should determine what amount of growth is actually supportable, based on environmental and fiscal limits, not only on economic projections.

• Urban Growth Boundaries to define the area of ultimate urbanization around all cities and unincorporated urban centers.

• Strengthening Open Space Elements of general plans to include biodiversity inventories.

• Encouraging infill and compact development within urban growth boundaries.

• Increasing the supply of low-income housing through new funding mechanisms.

• Requiring the availability of all needed public services and facilities before a development project can be approved.

• Improving air quality by encouraging transit and coordinating transportation and land use planning.

• Effective regional planning based on the State Comprehensive Plan.

• High standards of services and design in all urban areas.

• Recognition of the fact that there are long-term limits to growth in California.

The CNRCC will advocate a package of bills to carry out these policies in the forthcoming sessions of the California Legislature. The CNRCC is also studying a proposal for an Initiative to mandate a State Comprehensive Plan.

The Guidelines also include policies for local growth management initiatives that will encourage compact, infill development and affordable housing. These policies will help local activists prepare measures that the Sierra Club can support.

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