California Seeks Reduced Emissions Through Regional Planning

By Michael Wilmeth

A new law in California explicitly links suburban sprawl to global warming and seeks to use land-use planning to reduce vehicle miles traveled and the resulting greenhouse gas emissions. California Senate Bill (SB) 375, signed into law in September 2008, supports the goals of California's Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 by providing incentives for compact, transit-oriented development. Passenger vehicles account for 30% of California's greenhouse gas emissions, and although fuel-efficient vehicles are one part of California's plan to reduce those emissions, SB 375 focuses on creating settlement patterns that discourage car-dependence and long commutes.

SB 375 had the support of a variety of environmental groups, as well as the Congress for the New Urbanism and Ford Motor Company. Opponents included the California Chamber of Commerce and the California Association of Realtors. After signing the law, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger described it as “the most sweeping revision of land-use policies since Governor Ronald Reagan signed the California Environmental Quality Act” in 1970.

SB 375 directs the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to appoint a committee to provide guidance to counties and municipalities required to address greenhouse gas reductions in their planning processes; the committee is to submit its recommendations to CARB by the end of 2009. The law also requires CARB to set targets for each metropolitan planning organization for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from cars and light trucks through land-use planning. Regions will have to develop “sustainable communities strategies” (SCSs) that, if implemented, would meet those targets.

The law relies on carrots, not sticks, for the most part, offering streamlined environmental review for developments that meet certain criteria. It also makes state funding for many transportation projects contingent on consistency with the relevant SCS. However, sustainable communities strategies are not binding. Regions must simply demonstrate that their plans will meet greenhouse gas targets if implemented.

Development projects that qualify for streamlined environmental review are residential or mixed-use projects that are consistent with the SCS and “transit priority projects,” which must be at least 50% residential, have a minimum of 20 dwellings per acre, and be located within half a mile of a major transit stop or well-served transit corridor.

Bill Fulton, the publisher of California Planning & Development Report, writes that the law contains “potentially revolutionary changes in regional planning for transportation and housing,” but that “whether it leads to sweeping change depends on how aggressively California’s regional planning agencies implement it.” At least, the law signifies the legislature’s intention to move the state away from suburban sprawl; at best, it could serve as a potent tool for shaping more compact communities.

This article was produced by BuildingGreen, LLC.- www.buildinggreen.com