First Name | Mike |
---|---|
Last Name | Daley |
Email Address | mdaley@eahhousing.org |
Affiliation | EAH Housing |
Subject | CARB should set a goal of 11-14 MMT from Smart Growth |
Comment | THE MISSION OF EAH HOUSING is to create community by developing, managing and promoting quality affordable housing. Affordable housing is a key component of achieving lower VMT. Higher smart growth goals will help to ensure that legislation such as SB 375 will have the resources behind it to truly support affordable housing in smart growth planning. CARB should set a goal of 11-14 MMT and send a clear signal that new communities should be walkable, affordable, and have great transportation choices. A September 2008 scientific analysis by Dr. Reid Ewing and Dr. Arthur C. Nelson, authors of Growing Cooler, the definitive scholarly text on urban development and climate change, finds that a target of 11-14 MMT a year is achievable with policies California is already contemplating (the Ewing Report is available at www.climateplan.org). A target of 11-14 MMT translates to a very modest reduction in driving in 2020 – less than four miles per day per licensed driver. ---------------------------------------------------------- BACKGROUND ON AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND INFILL the inclusion of affordable housing is a crucial aspect in this model of new infill development. Tim Frank of the Sierra Club has said that “all affordable housing is green,” with an awareness that mixed-income communities help alleviate the traffic, congestion, and pollution that arise from commuting by those pushed to the margins. We have seen this in a number of communities where market rate infill development has both priced out working people and created more service jobs filled by people who cannot afford housing nearby. The development community is ready to meet the market demand for infill development. But we face barriers: local governments need resources to plan and zone for climate-friendly development, and developers and local governments alike lack funding and financing options for building mixed-income infill developments and the infrastructure needed to support them. The AB 32 Scoping Plan is a major opportunity to provide leadership and set policy direction not only to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but also to meet Californians’ demands for relief from high gas prices through shorter commutes and affordable homes in walkable neighborhoods. Therefore, we urge you to: 1. Plan for higher CO2 reductions from smart transportation and land us planning. 2. Focus state capital programs to provide funding to local governments and developers that are planning for and building development that reduces VMT. The Bay Area’s Metropolitan Transportation Commission has adopted a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2035 through land use and transportation planning. MTC has set a VMT reduction goal of a 10% per-capita decrease by 2035, compared to an anticipated increase of 10% if no action is taken. The state should match the leadership that is already happening throughout the state by making VMT reduction a significant part of California’s climate strategy and providing the resources needed to make it happen. Models for these actions can be found around the state, and those that maintain a commitment to including households of all incomes in the planning stages hold the most potential for everybody’s future. |
Attachment | www.arb.ca.gov/lists/scopingpln08/847-ab_32_scoping_plan_support_letter_md_v2.doc |
Original File Name | AB 32 Scoping Plan Support Letter MD V2.doc |
Date and Time Comment Was Submitted | 2008-12-01 11:59:39 |
If you have any questions or comments please contact Clerk of the Board at (916) 322-5594.