Comment Log Display

Dear Linda and Mary, 

 

I understand that the Air Resources Board will set the SB 375
regional targets during this Thursday’s hearing. I am writing to
encourage ARB to adopt the staff recommended targets for 2020 and
2035. 

 

From my work on the Strategic Growth Council, I am increasingly
convinced that California must make more efficient use of our
limited finances and natural resources by making more sound
investment decisions. SB 375 can help us accomplish these goals if
it is effectively implemented. The regional targets are a vital
step in that process.  While the staff recommendations represent a
compromise, they are sufficient to begin the process of providing
greater incentives to local and regional agencies to invest public
transportation funds to grow communities in more efficient ways.

 

There are significant additional co-benefits as well. For example,
SB 375 can help Californians save several million acre-feet of
water over the next few decades by shifting to more compact
development strategies which demand less water. This will enable
local agencies to accommodate more population growth within our
limited water supplies while reducing the amount residents would
otherwise have to pay for expanded water infrastructure. This also
saves water for agriculture. 

 

Effective targets will also help provide Californians with more
choices to reduce the number of hours they must spend commuting to
work and school.  In addition to helping you meet your AB 32
greenhouse gas reduction limits, this will also help reduce the air
pollution that causes alarming rates of asthma and other
respiratory problems,  as well as helping avoid the associated
medical costs.

 

SB 375 is one of the most effective tools available to help policy
makers integrate various goals including mobility, housing, public
health, natural resource conservation, and more efficient use of
tax dollars. The regional targets you set this week are vital to
bringing home SB 375’s potential benefits.  The staff
recommendations provide a good start towards effective
implementation of this important law.

 

All the best to you both, 

 

Bob Fisher