Comment Log Display

June 23, 2010

California Air  Resources Board
1001 I Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
FAX: 916-327-5748

Re:  Support for implementation of SB 375

Dear Chairwoman Mary Nichols,  Board Members and CARB Staff:

As co-founders of the Congress for the  New Urbanism, this
country's leading organization promoting walkable  mixed-use
neighborhood development, we urge you to set ambitious targets for 
greenhouse gas emissions through SB 375. The oil spill in the Gulf 
demonstrates that the real cost of our oil dependence is much
higher than  what we pay at the pump, and SB 375 finally provides
the impetus we need to  build the neighborhoods and the
transportation system that will free us from  dependence on foreign
oil. Strong implementation of SB 375 will also help  the region
offset the impact of population growth on quality of life by 
addressing all the problems long associated with Southern
California's infamous sprawl -including traffic congestion, the
burden of rising housing  and transportation costs on families,
declining air quality and climate  change.

SB 375 will begin the CEQA reform necessary to remove the 
barriers to infill and transit-oriented development, thus leveling
the  playing field for the building industry and helping to
maintain a balance  between infill and greenfield development. The
law helps provide certainty  for developers as well as for
neighborhood residents about where development  is supposed to
occur - thereby making development less contentious and the 
planning and permitting process less expensive. And SB 375 will
improve the  allocation of transportation funding according to
density and need, thereby  easing traffic problems in existing
neighborhoods. By promoting a better  jobs-housing balance SB 375
will also help reduce the time people must spend  commuting -
allowing them to instead spend the time with family and  friends.

Bottom line, SB 375 helps California accommodate growth in  ways
that are economically sound, environmentally responsible and
socially  beneficial. The state needs to set a new and more
sustainable course now  more than ever. Don't back down from
enforcing the  law.


Sincerely,

Elizabeth Moule & Stefanos Polyzoides