Earth Equity News

California Bill Attacks Sprawl. Editorial, LATimes, August 31, 2008. “The number of miles Californians drive is growing almost twice as fast as the state's population, as housing developments sprout farther and farther from commercial centers. Not only does this urban sprawl put upward pressure on gasoline prices, it creates freeway gridlock, worsens air pollution and makes fighting global warming next to impossible. California lawmakers have tried and failed for decades to bring sprawl under control, but they may finally be on the verge of success. SB 375 from Sen. Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento), who last week was elected the next president pro tem of the state Senate, marks the first time any state has attempted to tie greenhouse gas reduction to transportation funding and regional land-use planning. The bill's details are complex -- primarily because in the two years Steinberg has been trying to get it through the Legislature, he has rewritten it five times in an attempt to overcome opposition from builders and municipal governments -- but its main thrust is to provide incentives for regional planners to impose ‘smart growth.’ That means building denser housing close to urban centers and public transportation corridors, so people don't have to commute as far... The bill has been passed by both houses of the Legislature and now awaits a housekeeping vote in the Senate. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger should sign it once it lands on his desk.”