LandWatch Alert--AB 857
Historic State Planning Law Just Passed

The State Legislature has just passed AB 857, by Assembly Member Patricia Wiggins. This bill establishes state planning priorities that will help prevent future urban sprawl.

Attached is a press release, issued by the California Futures Network, of which LandWatch is an affiliate. Also attached is a fact sheet on AB 857.

The full text of the bill can be obtained by clicking on the “LEGISLATION” button at the following website: http://www.sen.ca.gov/. Type in the number 857, for a copy of AB 857, along with legislative analyses, and the voting tallies on the bill.

Governor Davis will have until September 30th to decide whether or not to sign AB 857. The Governor can be contacted as follows:

Governor Gray Davis
State Capitol Building
Sacramento, CA 95814
Telephone: (916) 445-2841
FAX: (916) 445-4633
Email: governor@governor.ca.gov

---

Smart Growth in the Golden State

Bill to “Get State’s Planning Act Together” Sent to Governor
Measure would decrease urban sprawl and save taxpayers millions

SACRAMENTO – The California State Assembly and Senate approved a Conference Committee Report (AB 857 Wiggins) last night that requires the State to adopt consistent planning and capital spending priorities. AB 857 establishes three priorities that encourages all state agencies to promote infill development within our existing communities, protect the state's most valuable environmental and agricultural resources, and encourage efficient development patterns overall. The bill is expected to maintain and enhance public health and safety, reduce the current rate of farmland and open space loss, address the current inequities among communities—especially communities of color--and save taxpayers millions of dollars.

Assemblywoman Patricia Wiggins, D-Santa Rosa, chairwoman of the Legislature’s Smart Growth Caucus, said, “Senator Byron Sher and I brought our two bills together in Conference to author a bill that sets long-overdue land use policy priorities for the State’s activities and investments.”

“Just by having the State set its own clear goals and have coordination among all the various state agencies, local governments, residents, and businesses would all have a much better ability to plan their own developments with greater clarity and certainty,” said Tom Jones, Executive Director of the California Futures Network.

The American Planning Association, California Chapter, whose members are the professional planners trying to respond to California’s growth challenges, sponsored the bill in the hopes of establishing better State direction for local communities to figure out their own strategies for future growth. Sande George, Executive Director of the APACC, says “We especially like the requirement for the Governor to establish a dispute resolution process so that conflicts between the policies of different agencies, or between project sponsors and agencies, can be much more quickly resolved, and costly litigation can be avoided.”

Governor Ronald Reagan first signed Legislation that authorized the Office of Planning and Research to set State priorities and goals in the Environmental Goals and Policy Report and required the Report to be updated every four years. California’s one and only report was completed under Governor Jerry Brown 24 years ago; since then California’s population has increased by about 12 million new residents.

AB 857 makes good planning sense, and supporters say the bill also makes good environmental sense. Over the next two decades, California is expected to add anther 11.2 million people. There is substantial public concern about how such growth can be accommodated without spoiling California’s unique environment. A June 2002 “Special Survey on Californians and the Environment” by the Public Policy Institute of California reveals that the majority of Californians are concerned about air pollution, sprawl, water pollution, and traffic congestion as interconnected and significant environmental problems for which much stronger state leadership is needed. “Nine in 10 California registered voters say that the candidate’s environmental positions will be at least somewhat important in determining their vote for governor this fall...and a majority say that the state government is not doing enough to protect the environment.” according to the pollsters. “Growth management is one of Sierra Club’s top priorities as sprawling development puts California’s already fragmented wildlife habitat at even greater risk,” says Bill Allayaud, Legislative Director.

A broad coalition of interests came together in support of the bill, including League of California Cities and California State Association of Counties. They share a common interest in the State “getting its act together.” Backers of the bill explain that better state planning and investment consistent with the bills’ priorities would accommodate new growth using more land efficient and cost effective approaches, and help improve many of the communities that did not benefit from the boom of the l990’s, or are suffering in the current economic doldrums, including rural communities. As John McCaull of the American Farmland Trust points out, “In the last 20 years since the last official State Environmental and Policy Goals plan was adopted and subsequently ignored, California has lost 4.5 million acres of farmland. The Central Valley alone will lose another one million acres primarily to sprawling development in the next twenty years. AB 857 helps to focus growth in existing communities and when encourages efficient growth on the edges thus protecting productive farmland that is critical to the economy of rural communities.”

Francisco Estrada of the Mexican American Legal and Educational Fund (MALDEF) said, “The mantra in real estate is ‘location, location, location’, but every time we try to talk about where the state’s investments ought to go and which communities are benefiting and losing, the opponents say the State shouldn’t make such policies and priorities. Our communities are currently losing and this bill and its priorities will help us correct that inequity so that all California communities can equally share in the benefits and the responsibilities of growth, and protect the future of the State for our kids.”

The bill also aligns state planning and investment priorities with the need to address the increased traffic congestion associated with our increasingly spread out development patterns. Over the last two decades, the average California driver logged 20% more miles per year than in past decades, primarily because their home and their workplace were further apart than ever before. Changing this pattern will help address traffic congestion as well as help improve air quality. “By promoting more high quality residential and business development closer to our existing city centers, a real change in auto traffic and air quality could be realized for the benefit of all,” pointed out James Corless of the Surface Transportation and Policy Project, a strong supporter of the bill.

Former State Senator Patrick Johnston, notes that “AB 857 delivers on a promise made to Californians almost a quarter of a century ago by members of both parties that the State would do a better job coordinating its own planning and investments, and would most efficiently meet current generations needs while protecting resources for future generations as well. It makes good economic and environmental sense to anyone who cares about the long range future of California.”

CFN Bay Area Headquarters:
564 Market Street, Suite 715E
San Francisco, CA 94104
(415) 395-9333
(415) 395-9344 fax

Sacramento Office:
1414 K Street, Suite 305
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 325-2533
(916) 448-3074 fax

Los Angeles Office:
634 S Spring Street, Suite 823
Los Angeles, CA 90014
(213) 624-9366
(213) 624-9344 fax

---

AB 857 -- SUPPORT

STATE LAND USE GOALS AND PRIORITIESCONFERENCE COMMITTEE GOALS

• Ensure fairness by investing in areas where people live now, especially in under-served communities. Under-served areas often do not receive their fair share of state infrastructure resources, while at the same time subsidizing affluent areas and taking on a disproportionate share of polluting infrastructure.
  
  
• Save taxpayer dollars by making cost-effective and efficient infrastructure investments. The state is digging a fiscal hole by not adequately funding infrastructure maintenance and rehabilitation.
  
  
• Protect valuable natural and agricultural resources before they are lost forever.

CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REPORT

• Strengthens state land use priorities. California has not updated statutorily required land use priorities in 24 years. The conference committee report establishes three state planning priorities that the state would encourage (but not require exclusively): (1) promote infill development and equity, (2) protect the most valuable natural and agricultural resources and (3) encourage efficient development patterns in areas to the extent infill development is not possible.
  
  
• Ensures state consistency with priorities. State agencies often have conflicting policies that detrimentally impact both state and local plans and projects. The conference committee report requires state agency infrastructure plans to incorporate the state planning priorities, and clarifies the specific types of infrastructure projects covered by this new requirement.
  
  
• Establishes a state conflict resolution process. The conference committee report requires the Governor to develop a conflict resolution process to reconcile policy conflicts between state agency functional plans and state infrastructure projects. It also requires the Governor to set up a similar process to reconcile conflicting policies and requirements of state agencies that detrimentally impact local land use projects and plans.

SUPPORT (partial list, complete support below)

AB 857 – SUPPORTER LIST

AGRICULTURE
American Farmland Trust
California Farm Bureau Federation

COMMUNITY/EQUITY/SOCIAL JUSTICE
California ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now)
California Church Impact
Latino Issues Forum
Latino Urban Forum
LISC (Local Initiative Support Corporation)
MALDEF (Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund)
PolicyLink

ENVIRONMENT
California League of Conservation Voters
California Native Plant Society
California Wilderness Coalition
Defenders of Wildlife
Endangered Habitats League
Institute of Ecological Health
LandWatch Monterey County
Natural Resources Defense Council
Palos Verdes/South Bay Audubon
Planning and Conservation League
Save Our Lathrop
Sierra Club
Trust for Public Land

HEALTH
American Lung Association of California

HOUSING
California Coalition for Rural Housing
Nonprofit Housing Association of Northern California

LABOR
California Professional Firefighters
California Teamsters Public Affairs Council
Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW)

LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Ca State Association of Counties
League of California Cities

PLANNING
American Planning Association California Chapter
California Futures Network
California Preservation Foundation
Congress for the New Urbanism
South County Residents for Responsible Growth (Sacramento)

TRANSPORTATION
Los Angeles Bicycle Coalition
Surface Transportation Policy Project
Train Riders Association of California

[Return to the State Planning Issues]

posted 08.30.02