ULI

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California Smart Growth Initiative
Colette Alpen, Noel Bouche, William Gibson,
Thomas Miller
ULI
Urban Land Institute

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Smart Growth is
Developing compact, mixed-use housing, employment
centers, and retail sites with easy pedestrian
access to regional transit stops.
ULI
Urban Land Institute
California Smart Growth Initiative

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Smart Growth is
Preserving farmland, species habitat, and other
important open-space by encouraging compact and
mixed- use planned development.
ULI
Urban Land Institute
California Smart Growth Initiative

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Smart Growth is
Removing fiscal and legal disincentives to the
production of much needed housing.
ULI
Urban Land Institute
California Smart Growth Initiative

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Smart Growth is
Developing recreational facilities on former
brownfields, close to downtown, and easily
accessible by transit.
ULI
Urban Land Institute
California Smart Growth Initiative

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Smart Growth is
Using school siting and improvement decisions to
reconnect local residents with a valuable
community resource, while also containing sprawl.
ULI
Urban Land Institute
California Smart Growth Initiative

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The State Coordinating Committee
Respected leaders in California's real estate,
business, environmental, social justice, civic,
and government sectors
ULI
Urban Land Institute
California Smart Growth Initiative

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The State Coordinating Committee
Co-Chairs
Greenlaw Fritz Grupe Chairman/CEO, The Grupe
Company
Will Rogers President, The Trust for Public
Land
ULI
Urban Land Institute
California Smart Growth Initiative

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The State Coordinating Committee
David A. Abel Angela G. Blackwell Nick
Bollman Julie Bornstein Daryl J. Carter Gary
Cusumano Elizabeth Deakin Carol J.
Galante Arthur M. Gensler, Jr.
John Gioia Gail Goldberg Viola Gonzales Ralph
E. Grossi Carl Guardino William Hauck Thomas
Jones Bruce Karatz James D. Klingbeil
Mitchell B. Menzer Jerry Meral Steve
Nissen George S. Nolte Bev Perry Stan
Ross Lynn M. Sedway Dan Silver Linda Wong
ULI
Urban Land Institute
California Smart Growth Initiative

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Objectives
Reach agreement on an integrated package of
incentives and regulatory reforms that could
significantly promote smart growth
Present findings to top state policy makers and
major stakeholder groups
ULI
Urban Land Institute
California Smart Growth Initiative

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Current Trends
? 6 million new residents by 2010 ? Affordable
housing shortage ? Low density develop ?
Economic disparities
ULI
Urban Land Institute
California Smart Growth Initiative

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Current Trends
? Increasing traffic congestion ? Jobs-housing
mismatch ? Growing automobile dependence
ULI
Urban Land Institute
California Smart Growth Initiative

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Current Trends
? Loss of farmland ? High infrastructure cost ?
Losing competitive advantage
ULI
Urban Land Institute
California Smart Growth Initiative

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What is Smart Growth Development?
it is economically viable it is environmentally
responsible it encourages livable communities
ULI
Urban Land Institute
California Smart Growth Initiative

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Fiscal Barriers
? State budget shortages ?
Fiscalization of land use ? Limited funding
for planning and infrastructure

California is expected to have a budget deficit
of 22 billion dollars over the next fiscal
year. Source California Finance Dept.
ULI
Urban Land Institute
California Smart Growth Initiative

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Legal Barriers
? Redundancy in CEQA ? Brownfields
liability ? Construction defect litigation

ULI
Urban Land Institute
California Smart Growth Initiative

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Political Barriers
? Community resistance to growth ? Fragmented
planning ? Lack of coordinated vision
ULI
Urban Land Institute
California Smart Growth Initiative

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Recommended Package Of State Actions
Economic Incentives
Regulatory Reforms
Community Dividend Program
Linked CEQA General Plan Actions
Targeted State Transportation Funding
Provide Local Fiscal Certainty and Flexibility
Smart Growth Principles
Tax Increment Financing for Transit Oriented
Development
Resolve Construction Defect Disputes
Eliminate Overlapping Brownfield Clean-Up Rules
Maximize Community Building in New Schools
ULI
Urban Land Institute
California Smart Growth Initiative

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Current Challenge
? Inadequate local funds for preparing general
and specific plans that promote smart growth
? Inadequate infrastructure funds to promote
smart growth
ULI
Urban Land Institute
California Smart Growth Initiative

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Community Dividend Program
Planning Support
Forgivable Loans or Grants for Local Planning
? Encourage development of needed housing ?
Promote transportation choices ? Promote infill ?
Encourage downtown and transit-centered
activities ? Encourage mixed uses ? Preserve
open space and environmental amenities ? Provide
certainty in the development review process
ULI
Urban Land Institute
California Smart Growth Initiative

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Community Dividend Program
Infrastructure Funding Assistance

? Funding priority for state infrastructure ?
Conformity with smart growth objectives
ULI
Urban Land Institute
California Smart Growth Initiative

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Current Challenge
? Inadequate state transportation funds
? Inadequate linkage between state
transportation investments and land use
decisions
ULI
Urban Land Institute
California Smart Growth Initiative

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Targeted State Transportation Funding

• ? Maximize efficiency and cost savings
• ? Connect funding allocations to smart growth
  plans
• and projects
• ? Provide financial and technical support to the
• states Inter-Regional Partnership program
• ? Create a transportation for livable
  communities pool

ULI
Urban Land Institute
California Smart Growth Initiative

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Current Challenge
? Inadequate incentives to encourage growth
around regional transit hubs ? Neighborhood
resistance to higher- intensity development
near transit
ULI
Urban Land Institute
California Smart Growth Initiative

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Permit Tax Increment Financing For Transit
Oriented Development

• ? To provide needed community amenities
• ? For areas within ¼ mile of transportation stops
• ? For primarily urbanized areas
• ? For housing and a mix of land uses

ULI
Urban Land Institute
California Smart Growth Initiative

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Current Challenge
? Increasingly larger schools on larger sites
? Desire to encourage community collaboration
and joint facility use in school remodeling
and construction
ULI
Urban Land Institute
California Smart Growth Initiative

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Maximize Community Building In New Schools
? State funding incentives for schools that meet
state policy objectives ? Make schools the
centers of their neighborhoods ? Provide
joint-use facilities with non-profit or
public agencies ? Minimize acreage needed for
school sites
ULI
Urban Land Institute
California Smart Growth Initiative

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Current Challenge
? Misuse of CEQA during development process
? Uncertainty around CEQA review process
? Inadequate connection between CEQA and smart
growth planning
ULI
Urban Land Institute
California Smart Growth Initiative

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Linked CEQA and General Plan Actions
Streamline Environmental Review for Qualifying
Infill Projects

• ? Allow lead agency to prepare infill focused
  EIR
• ? Projects would have to meet certain criteria
• ? No need to address project alternatives,
• growth inducing, and cumulative effects

ULI
Urban Land Institute
California Smart Growth Initiative

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Linked CEQA and General Plan Actions
Better Manage Urban Development In Unincorporated
Areas

• ? Promote more compact and orderly development
• ? Identify areas where growth can, and cannot,
  take place
• ? Identify designated smart growth areas
• ? Create greater certainty for conforming projects

ULI
Urban Land Institute
California Smart Growth Initiative

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Linked CEQA and General Plan Actions
Infill Site Inventory and Plan

• ? Part of housing element statute
• ? Identify sites, barriers, incentives, and
  objectives
• ? CEQA exemption for qualifying and conforming
  projects

ULI
Urban Land Institute
California Smart Growth Initiative

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Current Challenge
? Underproduction of needed housing ? Local
concerns about whether new housing pays its
own way
ULI
Urban Land Institute
California Smart Growth Initiative

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Provide Local Fiscal Certainty and Flexibility

• ? Allow cities and counties to exchange property
• and sales taxes
• ? Allow localities to capture a larger share of
• property taxes from new housing
• ? Allow dedication of new revenue to promote
• smart growth

ULI
Urban Land Institute
California Smart Growth Initiative

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Current Challenge

• ? Underproduction of multi-family, for-sale
• housing
• Unavailable liability insurance for
• developers, contractors, and architects for
• work on new, for-sale housing development

ULI
Urban Land Institute
California Smart Growth Initiative

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Resolve Construction Defect Disputes
? Require uniform maintenance requirements ?
Require uniform defect definitions ? Limit
punitive damages ? Provide universal insurance
for developers
ULI
Urban Land Institute
California Smart Growth Initiative

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Current Challenge
? Need for developable land in urbanized
areas ? Cumbersome system of laws and
requirements governing clean-up of brownfield
sites
ULI
Urban Land Institute
California Smart Growth Initiative

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Eliminate Overlapping Brownfield Clean-Up Rules
? Provide definitive guidance ? Create single
lead agency ? Clear up regulatory maze ? Align
state laws with federal brownfields
revitalization act
ULI
Urban Land Institute
California Smart Growth Initiative

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Thank You
Colette Alpen, Noel Bouche, William Gibson,
Thomas Miller
Spring 2002