Getting to Smart Growth
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Getting to Smart II: Growth Praise for Volume I of Getting to Smart Growth: Getting to Smart II: Growth 100 Policies for Implementation: Getting to Smart Growth II: 100 MORE POLICIES FOR IMPLEMENTATION “It’s nice to have a single document describing many different “100 Policies is a great book.We are going to make this one strategies to refer to as a resource.” mandatory reading for the city’s aldermen.” Diane Paoni, Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Mayor Fred Brereton, Bureau of Planning, Madison, Wisconsin City of Belvidere, Illinois “I work with towns all over the state for free technical “We are currently working on the preparation of our new assistance and this will be a fantastic resource for tools for General Plan and this book appears to offer some great ideas municipalities and counties.” for incorporating specific policies and programs to incorporate Joyce DeLaurentis, Community Development Director, sustainability and smart growth into our Plan.” Maryland Rural Redevelopment Corporation, Greensboro, Maryland Pamela Tuft, AICP, Director of General Plan Administration, City of Petaluma, California “I think it is an excellent document and will help our leaders shape the future of Northern California.” “A couple of months ago, I ordered and received 15 copies of Rich Theis, Leadership Institute for Ecology and the Economy, Getting to Smart Growth. Since then, I’ve given them to local Sebastopol, California municipal officials and developers. Everyone likes the book and I’ve run out of copies. It’s a great publication.” Steve Davis, Canizaro Cawthon Davis, Jackson, Mississippi http://smartgrowth.org 42994 10/03 • 04-099 Acknowledgements Cover Credit We would like to acknowledge the efforts of the writing and research team that put Dover, Kohl & Partners; James Dougherty, Illustrator. Renderings from “Connecting this publication together: Trent Frazier, Kevin Nelson, Lisa Nisenson, Mary Kay Johnson City: A Master Plan for Johnson City.” Santore, Lee Sobel, Eric Sprague, and Tim Torma of the U.S. Environmental About the Smart Growth Network Protection Agency (EPA), and Dan Emerine, Eric Feldman, Amy Jiron, and Jennifer The Smart Growth Network is a network of private sector, public sector, and non- Walker of the International City/County Management Association (ICMA). Without governmental partner organizations seeking to create smart growth in neighbor- their efforts and teamwork, this primer would not exist. In particular, Mary Kay hoods, communities, and regions across the United States. Partners in the network Santore of EPA and Dan Emerine and Nadejda Mishkovsky of ICMA played a criti- include the American Farmland Trust,American Planning Association, Association of cal role in reviewing text, coordinating the process and bringing the document to Metropolitan Planning Organizations, Center for Neighborhood Technology, Congress publication. Assistance was also provided by Laurence Aurbach, John Bailey, Charlie for the New Urbanism, Conservation Fund, Environmental Law Institute, George Bartsch, Noreen Beatley, Kathy Blaha, Kendra Briechle, Heather Deutsch, Paul Washington University Law School’s Center for Sustainability and Regional Growth, Drake, Robert Freeman, DeLania Hardy, Marla Hollander, Stephanie Jennings, Leah Growth Management Leadership Alliance, Institute of Transportation Engineers, Kalinosky, Dennis Leach, Deron Lovaas, Aarin Lutzenhiser, Barbara McMillen, International City/County Management Association, Local Government Commission, Stuart Meck, Joe Molinaro, Steve Mouzon, Lisa Mueller, Nathan Norris, Lucy Local Initiatives Support Corporation, National Association of Counties/United Rowland, Victor Rubin, Joe Schilling, Julia Seward, Ellen Shubart, Stuart Sirota, States Conference of Mayors Joint Center for Sustainable Communities, State of Benjamin Starrett, Megan Sussman, Peter Swift, Harriet Tregoning, Bill Wilkinson, Maryland, National Association of Counties, National Association of Local Jessica Wilkinson, and Paul Zykofsky—all of whom provided excellent insight and Government Environmental Professionals, National Association of Realtors, review of the document as it was being developed. The many photographers and National Multi-Housing Council, National Neighborhood Coalition, National Oceanic other colleagues credited throughout this primer provided valuable assistance by and Atmospheric Administration, National Trust for Historic Preservation, National allowing the use of their images. Special thanks to Geoff Anderson, Lynn Desautels, Wildlife Federation, Natural Resources Defense Council, Northeast-Midwest and other staff members of EPA’s Development, Community, and Environment Institute, Rails-to-Trails Conservancy, Scenic America, Smart Growth America, Division for their role in providing comments, materials, and other assistance. We Surface Transportation Policy Project, Sustainable Communities Network, Trust for would also like to thank David Biggs, Mary Matheny, Jim McElfish, Johanna Nyden, Public Land, Urban Land Institute, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Kenrick Pierre, Robert Puentes, Tom Steinbach, and the many others who submitted ideas for inclusion in this volume. Finally, Christian Kohler provided valuable assis- Join the Smart Growth Network! tance with proofreading and editing the text. Design and layout by Carol Earnest. The Smart Growth Network also includes hundreds of individual members from across the United States and around the world. SGN members are planners, devel- This document was developed under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. EPA’s opers, elected and appointed officials, and community activists committed to making Development, Community and Environment Division. smart growth a reality. Individual memberships in the Smart Growth Network are $49 for the first year, and $29 for renewals. Membership information, along with publications and other information about smart growth, can be found online at www.smartgrowth.org. For more information, send an e-mail to [email protected] or call 202/962-3623. ISBN: 0-87326-139-9 ©International City/County Management Association INTRODUCTION Getting to Smart Growth II: 100 MORE POLICIES FOR IMPLEMENTATION When we published the first volume of Getting to Smart Growth: There are some key differences between the two volumes. First 100 Policies for Implementation, we knew that there was an audience and foremost, Getting to Smart Growth II presents all new policies. for the practical information it contained. We were surprised to And, while it contains many actions for the public sector, it learn just how big that audience was. Between January 2002, when expands on our previous effort by also highlighting steps that the the publication was released, and September 2003, roughly 20,000 private sector can take to promote more livable communities. hardcopies were distributed and over 68,000 copies were down- This volume is also more specific than the first. It discusses indi- loaded. Requests for Getting to Smart Growth came from develop- vidual programs (occasionally specific applications of broader ers, architects, planners and planning commissions, city and ideas presented in the previous work) and emphasizes case studies county managers, mayors and council members, citizens, and real- to show where the various policies, programs, and projects have tors, as well people and groups less familiar with the movement been successfully implemented. In a few cases you will find poli- toward smarter growth. The document has served as the organiz- cies that are totally new and await their first application. Finally, ing principle for conferences, has been required reading for aca- in addition to “Practice Tips,” we have included “Finance Tips” demic coursework, has served as the basis of surveys, and has that illustrate important financial aspects of getting smart growth informed city councils, planning committees, and smart growth projects on the ground. These tips address an important fact commissions across the country and around the world. It is even about development: what gets financed is what gets built. being translated into Spanish. Clearly, there is a demand for infor- Smart growth projects are now being financed in record numbers. mation that connects smart growth ideas with specific action. Momentum for implementing smart growth continues to mount Getting to Smart Growth II picks up where the first volume left off. in both the public and private sectors. The Congress for the New Like its predecessor, this volume shows that a wide variety of Urbanism (CNU) estimates that between 2001 and 2002, the smart growth tools, policies, and approaches are available to create number of smart growth developments increased by 26 percent, more livable communities. Each community has its own unique set and that by December 2002, 472 smart growth developments had of challenges, and smart growth demands a flexible response. been completed. In another study, the CNU estimated that up to Volumes I and II offer a menu of options that can be mixed and one-third of the demand for new housing over the next couple of matched to fit local circumstances, local visions, and local values. decades is likely to be for dense, walkable communities. ii GETTING TO SMART GROWTH II On the public side of the ledger, smart growth has received signifi- better use of their tax dollars also find that outdated regulations, SMART GROWTH perverse subsidies, and arduous approval processes prohibit the PRINCIPLES cant support. Seventeen governors issued 19 executive