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Comment 17 for Comments in general on ARB Implementation of SB 375 (sb375-general-ws) - 1st Workshop.
First Name: Renner
Last Name: Johnston
Email Address: rennjill@sbcglobal.net
Affiliation:
Subject: Adopt the recommendations from RTAC
Comment:
November 4, 2009 Mary Nichols Chair, Air Resources Board 1001 "I" Street P.O. Box 2815 Sacramento, CA 95812 Dear Chairwoman Nichols and members of the board: We urge you to adopt the comprehensive recommendations from the Regional Targets Advisory Committee (RTAC) at your November 19, 2009, meeting. Crafted by a representative group of stakeholders and your able staff, the RTAC report carefully balances greenhouse gas reduction goals with social equity considerations of the impacts on lower-income Californians. I an Urban Designer and Architect with Mogavero Notestine Associates in Sacramento. As a private practice, we believe that it is important to speak out about the critical importance of Land Use planning in the reduction of GHG. Although supportive of the report as a whole, we urge your particular consideration of the following recommendations: 1.Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) should update their data collection and modeling to quantify the greenhouse gas reduction impacts of housing affordability, gentrification, and jobs-housing fit. As defined in the report, "jobs-housing fit" is the extent to which the rents and mortgages in a community are affordable to people who work there. In theory, a stronger jobs-housing fit should allow Californians to reduce their commute times and distances. However, this link needs to be tested and quantified, as do the links between home affordability generally and gentrification. 2.Automobile costs are very high when we make poor land use decisions. This high cost includes monthly payments to buy the vehicle, insurance, and fuel in addition to incredible unnecessary pollution. Mass transportation, the obvious solution, is not effective in sprawling landscapes of pavement. 3.Performance measures for the sustainable communities strategy should include the jobs-housing fit and other housing-related measures. 4.MPOs' progress in meeting goals should be measured through modeling and other sound scientific approaches. 5.The co-benefits of greenhouse gas reductions should be measured and reported. We appreciate your consideration of our views. Sincerely, Renner Johnston, AIA, LEED AP Senior Associate Mogavero Notestine Associates
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Date and Time Comment Was Submitted: 2009-11-04 10:10:45
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