Affordable Housing
New Jersey
For the first time in 15 years, the New Jersey Supreme Court has taken on the state's landmark Mount Laurel doctrine, and longtime observers of the court say the justices could be poised to write a new chapter in the decades-long struggle to provide affordable housing for the poor. http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/3350108.htm

Air Pollution
California
California Governor Gray Davis highlights his administration's environmental accomplishments and encourages business leaders to fight harder for passage of a bill that would, for the first time, regulate the emission of greenhouse gases from motor vehicles. http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/news/local/3328394.htm

Massachusetts
Air quality along the Southeast Expressway, which improved steadily for four years after the opening of the car pool ''zipper'' lane, has worsened significantly in the two years since the state opened the lane to cars with just two occupants in June 1999, an unpublished Massachusetts Highway Department report shows.
http://www.globe.com/dailyglobe2/148/metro/Pollution_is_said_up_after_HOV_rule_eased+.shtml

Big-Box Stores
Washington, DC
With the saturation of big-box stores in the suburbs a backlash is making stores -- particularly discount chains -- reconsider cities such as Washington, where executives are looking harder than ever for places to open.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A39138-2002May18.html

Brownfields
Ohio
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency is kicking off a second brownfield cleanup program. This federally endorsed alternative to Ohio's 8-year-old Voluntary Action Program (VAP) to clean up contaminated industrial sites will give property owners immunity from state and federal legal liability for additional cleanups. http://www.ohio.com/mld/beaconjournal/news/local/3356430.htm

Farmland
Maryland
For 22 years the state has saved farmland - more than 200,000 acres of it - by paying owners not to develop. Now, some who own farms that were protected in the program's early years have visions of a cash crop of houses.
http://www.sunspot.net/news/local/bal-te.md.preserved29may29.story?coll=bal%2Dlocal%2Dheadlines

Growth Management
Colorado
An ambitious, 20-year growth management plan  "Blueprint Denver" is simple: to make sure that growth occurs in areas that can handle it, where there are adequate bus and rapid transit stations and roads, and where it won't destroy the character of existing neighborhoods.
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_1157129,00.html

Florida
A new law that creates funding for Everglades restoration, also includes a controversial amendment that might limit whether citizens can challenge permits for developments, mines and industrial plants.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-locprotest28052802may28.story?coll=orl%2Dnews%2Dheadlines

Open Space Preservation
Illinois
Governor Ryan is proposing to cut dedicated funds for land acquisition to balance the state budget - $23 million in total. His revised budget proposal includes a decrease in the Natural Areas Acquisition Fund. It also proposes to cut the Open Space Land Acquisition and Development program, a grant program for land acquisition and capital improvements relied upon by park districts and forest preserve districts. These cuts are proposed in spite of the fact that the Governor has proposed increasing the Real Estate Transfer Tax. The Governor is also recommending a permanent reduction in the percentage of funds used for land preservation. 
If you would like more information, please call Joyce O'Keefe at Openlands Project at 312-427-4256 x236.

Transportation
Texas
US Census figures find commutes in the eight-county Houston area are Texas' worst. The county's numbers reflect statewide and nationwide trends. Commuting times are rising because of worsening congestion and the growing number of people in suburbs and exurbia-- rural areas beyond the suburbs.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/story.hts/metropolitan/1428040

Virginia
Smart growth activists are working to bring hundreds of Northern Virginians to protest a $3.25 billion proposal to widen a 14-mile stretch of the congested Capital Beltway. If approved, as many as 300 homes from Springfield to the American Legion Bridge could be taken by the state and demolished. In turn, thousands of residents who now live a comfortable distance from the busy highway would end up much closer to a Beltway of potentially 12 lanes and its towering noise walls and interchanges.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18626-2002May27.html

= = = National News = = = 
Peter Calthorpe writes in the American Planning Association's "Planning Magazine" about the critical need for a new paradigm of growth on undeveloped sites — one that complements urban infill and revitalization. This paradigm would match a new circulation (transportation) system with the new forms of land use now emerging through the New Urbanism and Smart Growth movements.
http://www.planning.org/planning/nonmember/default1.htm

= = = New Release = = =
The Michigan Land Use Institute reports on Michigan's former governor Jim Blanchard's new formula for urban improvement: Create parks within metropolitan areas. Offer a broad range of transportation choices. Fix roads first before building new ones. And update the obsolete public policies that subsidize sprawling suburban development at the expense of a quality metropolitan lifestyle.
http://www.mlui.org/projects/growthmanagement/general/andyblanchard.asp
 
 

= = = State and Local News = = =
Affordable Housing
California
State leaders must take charge of California's deepening housing crisis or risk severe economic and social consequences, recommends the Little Hoover Commission.  The Commission's new report, "Rebuilding the Dream: Solving California's Affordable Housing Crisis," was delivered to Governor Davis and the Legislature (4/8).  The report calls for using state dollars as incentives to compel communities to build adequate housing, fewer barriers for building on urban in-fill sites, regulatory reforms that encourage construction, and greater public subsidies to house the state's poorest residents.
Obtain the Little Hoover Commission's report at the following location: www.lhc.ca.gov
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/news/state/3228051.htm

Ballot Initiatives
Oregon
After 23 years as a national leader in controlling urban sprawl, voters in the Portland metropolitan area soundly defeated a measure from the property rights group Oregonians In Action to reduce the power of the Metro agency over urban density. Voters adopted a countermeasure sponsored by Metro allowing it to maintain control over urban density while requiring additional planning to protect livability in neighborhoods. 

Open Space
New Jersey
Legislators and environmentalists are criticizing Gov. James E. McGreevey's plan to use $43 million in open space preservation money to plug holes in the state budget and to pay the administrative costs of the state's land preservation programs.
http://www.nj.com/statehouse/ledger/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1022154018251180.xml

Transportation
Massachusetts
More Massachusetts residents drove alone to work in the 1990s, fewer people used carpools, and use of transit barely changed - increasing the average daily roundtrip from roughly 45 minutes per day to nearly an hour, according to US Census data released yesterday.
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/142/metro/Commuting_headaches_growing_in_Mass_+.shtml

Oklahoma
State senators confirm the governor's nomination of former Sen. Herschal Crow as state Cabinet secretary for transportation.
http://www.newsok.com/cgi-bin/show_article?ID=864697&pic=none&TP=getarticle

= = = National News = = =
Affordable Housing
After a daylong National Housing Forum, the nation's mayors today released a comprehensive set of recommendations to address the country's affordable housing crisis. 
http://www.usmayors.org/uscm/news/press_releases/documents/menino_052202.asp

The San Francisco Chronicle argues that smart growth is a solution to stopping sprawl but it needs to get smarter. 
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2002/05/21/carollloyd.DTL

= = = New Releases = = = 
A new report, "The Price of Paying Taxes: How Tax Preparation and Refund Loan Fees Erode the Benefits of the Earned Income Tax Credit", co-authored by the Brookings Urban Center and the Progressive Policy Institute, details for the first time, how the use of tax preparation services and "fast cash" refund loans is concentrated among working poor families and neighborhoods. The authors outline a policy agenda that would help to preserve the full value of the Earned Income Tax Credit, including: simplifying tax credits for low-income families; broadening the availability of free and affordable tax prep assistance and electronic filing of returns; and expanding access to low-cost bank accounts to promote direct deposit of EITC refunds. http://www.brookings.edu/urban

New from the Michigan Land Use Institute, Jane Holtz Kay, the author of Asphalt Nation, argues that a nation of nervous travelers has yet to contemplate the other knee-quaking environmental and urban consequences of our fly-drive society, including growing sprawl around airports. In her piece for the Elm Street Writers Group, Ms. Kay reports that runaway airport expansion has resulted in “airport city phenomena. http://www.mlui.org/projects/growthmanagement/elmstreet/holtzairport.asp

 = = = State and Local = = =
Infill Development
California
Converging trends are forcing public officials and home builders to embrace "smart growth" principles that place homes near jobs by making better use of abandoned, odd-shaped or marginal lands already within city boundaries. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-000031899may05.story

Land Use
Arizona
The largest private ranch in Arizona and its nearly 70,000 acres, almost 10 percent of the available remaining land in Maricopa County, are being sold to new owners who will have access to enough water to support 2 million people. But by dismantling what otherwise was too unwieldy a piece of land, the owners have removed the biggest obstacle for developers, who can now further subdivide parcels and wait for the right opportunity. And in a state where undeveloped land with plentiful water is better than gold, the sale of Paloma Ranch is a notable event in the story of Arizona's growth. http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0504palomaranch04.html

California
The latest from the "California Planning and Development Report" "Religious Land Uses Vex Planners". Local regulation of religious land uses has become the latest battlefield in California development. There are at least seven lawsuits pending over government regulation of church development, proposed private schools, and the use of facilities by religious ministries. http://www.cp-dr.com/binn/main.taf?function=

Local Politics
Virginia
Slow-Growth challengers make gains in Northern Virginia elections. Many voters in city and town elections in Northern Virginia sent a clear message to their leaders to curb development. Many races in otherwise sleepy hamlets turned into referendums on how to manage the suburban growth enveloping communities built at the turn of the last century. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A49335-2002May7.html

State Budget
California
Several major recommendations by the Commission on Building for the 21st Century have stalled, either due to fiscal or political uncertainties. http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/news/state/3206271.htm

Colorado
Colorado lawmakers (5/7) were reduced to agreeing not on how best to spend money on  road and mass- transit projects next year but in years to come, when money starts to trickle into state coffers. Governor has all but halted his effort to persuade legislators to find $100 million in order to secure more than $400 million in transportation bonds.
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36%257E61%257E597514,00.html

Florida
Road-building has emerged as one of the main obstacles to lawmakers completing a $49.7 billion state budget.  The House demands a $91.8 million transportation program. The road-building program at issue is the Transportation Outreach Program, derided by the Senate and other critics as a road-building "turkey pot" looted for hometown projects by influential lawmakers.  The final budget vote will be taken May 13.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orl-locbudget07050702may07.story?coll=orl%2Dnews%2Dheadlines

Transportation
California
Representatives of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority and members of an advocacy group -whose law suit brought about a bitterly contested federal decree to boost bus service- held face-to-face talks with a federal mediator.  The first such meeting in two years and the first since the agency's legal appeals were quashed by the Supreme Court.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-000031366may03.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dcalifornia

Kentucky
The Kentuckiana Regional Planning and Development Agency says federal money for metro Louisville transportation projects ranging from new Ohio River bridges to a light rail system could be frozen as early as November.  The finding is linked to the Kentucky General Assembly's decision to halt vehicle emissions testing in Jefferson County.
http://www.kentucky.com/mld/kentucky/news/local/3204917.htm

Urban Renewal
Alabama
Piedmont Mayor Charlie Fagan plans to use a new state law to do a little urban renewal while passing the costs on to property owners. The new law lets city councils clean up properties that are deemed public health hazards and bill the property owners for the costs.
http://www.annistonstar.com/news/2002/as-calhoun-0506-asieckmann-2e06b2320.htm

Water Quality
California
Contra Costa County's Public Works Department estimates public and private developers will have to pay $200 million to $300 million annually to comply with new clean water requirements.  These projected figures underscore county fears that amendments to its storm water discharge permit could have wide-reaching fiscal effects.  If modifications are not made to reduce the costs, smart growth initiatives may be impeded.
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/3212470.htm

= = = National News = = =
"How We Live: Part One" is the first installment of a new series examining issues affecting people's daily lives on the PBS Online Newshour. Ray Suarez has the first report which looks at urban sprawl in Atlanta, Georgia.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/jan-june02/atlanta_4-30.html

Newly released Census Bureau data shows that houses are worth at least twice as much in Nevada and Washington state as they are Mississippi. Data from these three states is the first look at information that will be coming out from the Census Bureau through September. Differences in housing costs can be attributed to the age of the housing stock. High-growth also creates demand for housing that pushes up its value.
http://www.clarionledger.com/news/0205/08/m99.html
http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2002/demoprofiles.html

= = = New Releases = = =
The University of North Carolina at Wilmington has just launched the "Educator's Resource Web site", www.uncwil.edu/smartgrowth . Designed for use in public schools, this site was developed to broaden students' understanding of growth and its implications as well as smart growth and sustainable development. The site offers unique curriculum experiences to teachers and students. 

More than 700,000 undeveloped acres will disappear in the Washington region says the analysis of 15 years of regional development patterns by the Chesapeake Bay  Foundation, the University of   Maryland and the U.S. Geological  Survey.  The new study predicts the amount of developed land from the Shenandoah Mountains to the Chesapeake Bay will triple by 2030. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11593-2002Apr30.html

= = = Highlight = = =
Air Pollution
The American Lung Association has released its annual "State of the Air 2002" report.  "State of the Air 2002" examines ozone air quality data for 1998-2000, which is the most recent quality-assured data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The report grades and ranks counties on how often their air quality reaches “unhealthful” categories of the EPA’s Air Quality Index for ozone air pollution. Ground-level ozone is the strongest indicator of air pollution. It's created primarily by emissions from cars and coal-fired power plants, mixed with sunlight.
Among those metropolitan areas scoring “Fs,” the 10 most ozone-polluted areas are Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, Calif.; Bakersfield, Calif.; Fresno, Calif.; Visalia-Tulare-Porterville, Calif.; Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, Texas; Atlanta, Ga.; Merced,  Calif.; Knoxville, Tenn.; Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, N.C.-S.C.; and Sacramento-Yolo, Calif.
http://www.lungusa.org/air2001/index.html

Each year metro Atlanta officials have to prove they are on the path to cutting smog in order to qualify for federal highway funds. 
http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/metro/0502/01smog.html

= = = State and Local = = =
Big Box Superstores
California
The effort of Home Depot officials to open a store in San Francisco has become a character-defining moment for a city always fretting about losing its neighborhood character. While most "no Home Depot" battles across the United States match mom-and- pops against the1,371-store home-improvement chain, the local version that's peaking today pits San Franciscans against each other. 
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2002/04/29/MN205431.DTL

Reducing the fiscal incentive for retail is what local officials are hoping to do by shifting sales taxes from cities and replace the revenue with a regional pool communities would share. The hope is that by taking away the financial incentive for mega-stores, cities and counties will practice better planning.
http://www.latimes.com/editions/orange/la-000030472apr29.story?coll=la%2Deditions%2Dorange

Farmland
Kentucky
The Fiscal Court of Jefferson County has approved a yearlong land -conservation plan to inventory and save farmland being eating by development. The program will be coordinated with Metro Parks and the U.S. Soil and Water Conservation and will cost about $35,000. 
http://www.courier-journal.com/localnews/2002/04/30/ke043002s197615.htm

Transportation
Massachusetts
The MBTA would have to increase fares, cut back services, and lay off personnel under the House's proposed state budget, which would force the agency to pay the state's 15 regional transit authorities $50 million annually, MBTA officials said (4/29).
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-000030577apr30.story?coll=la%2Dheadlines%2Dbusiness

Zoning
Alabama
The Mobile City Council approved five changes to the city's zoning rules related to downtown residential.  The changes are aimed at "re-examining existing planning and zoning policies in order to move away from the post-World War II development associated with inefficient suburbanization." 
http://www.al.com/news/mobileregister/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_standard.xsl?/base/news/101963971477244.xml

= = = National News = = =
Southern counties dominated the list of the 10 fastest-growing counties according to population estimates released by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau (4/29). Overall, 55 percent of all 3,141 U.S. counties grew since April 1, 2000. Nine of the 10 counties that have grown the fastest since Census 2000 were in the South: three in Texas, three in Georgia and one each in Virginia, Kentucky and Florida.
http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2002/cb02-59.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A64473-2002Apr28.html

Community Character Act
By a vote of 12 - 7, the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee gave final approval to S. 975, the Community Character Act. The Community Character Act, introduced by Rhode Island Senator Lincoln Chafee, would provide a much-needed incentive to help states and localities initiate and implement smart growth planning strategies. http://www.planning.org/legislation/

= = = New Releases = = =
Housing Survey 
The National Association of HomeBuilders and the National Association of Realtors released a new survey of new home buyers (4/22). Whereas the survey does indicate that price and home size are important considerations when people buy homes the survey also shows significant support for many smart growth principles. The survey only includes people who had bought homes in the last four years.
When asked to agree with various statements about their homes, 64 percent agreed with the statement, "I wish my home were larger." This was followed by "I wish I could walk to more places from my home," 27 percent; "I wish my home were closer to where I work," 23 percent; " I wish my home were closer to shopping and restaurants," 17 percent; "I wish my home were closer to public transportation," 9 percent; and "I wish I were closer to the city," 5 percent. To read the NAR/NAHB's survey, visit 
http://www.nahb.org/news/smartsurvey2002.htm 

A new release from the Brookings Institution's Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy "Valuing America's First Suburbs: A Policy Agenda for Older Suburbs in the Midwest" looks at the older, inner-ring suburbs and their unique set of assets and challenges that set them apart from newer suburban areas further out from the core of metropolitan areas, but also from their center cities. This report finds that, unfortunately, first suburbs are caught in a policy blindspot. They tend to not be poor enough to qualify for federal and state aid and not large enough to receive federal and state funds directly.  http://www.brookings.edu/urban

"American  Metropolitics: A Comparative National  Study of Social Separation and Sprawl", a new book by Myron Orfield and published by the Brookings Institution provides an eye-opening analysis of the economic, racial, environmental, and political trends of the 25 largest metropolitan regions in the United States—which contain more than 45 percent of the U.S. population. Using detailed maps and case studies, Orfield demonstrates that growing social separation and wasteful sprawling development patterns are harming regional citizens wherever they live.
http://www.brook.edu/dybdocroot/press/books/american_metropolitics.htm

Despite the Chicago region’s advantage of having a diverse mix of industry sectors, the economic health of the region is threatened by traffic congestion, an inadequate supply of housing for workers close to jobs and a tax system that limits the ability of some communities to educate their children and combat crime.