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I would like to express my strong recommendation that CARB adopt a
much higher carbon reduction target from improved land use and VMT
reduction strategies of at least 10 MMT, but even consider a higher
target. Transportation probably represents close to 50% of GHG
emissions if refining and drilling emissions are included. While
the development of cleaner fuels is underway and vehicle
efficiency is easily achieved through regulation, land use policy
represents probably the greatest area where state and local
government can exert leadership in the race to reduce GHG.  The
potential for huge GHG reductions will increase over time, but
only if we take action now. California has long been at the
forefront of environmental policy both nationwide and worldwide
and the opportunity is here and now to demonstrate that leadership
once again. 

Whatever momentum that California can create on this front will
surely become a model for other states and the world. 
Northeastern states have historically followed California’s lead
in air quality management. While our leadership in the climate
change community may have been lacking in recent administrations,
many countries still look to us for ideas, including China whose
explosive growth is poised to continue, yet whose government and
citizenry have an increasingly heightened awareness of the
environmental costs of that growth. Given that country’s size and
centrally planned government, any lessons that they can learn and
quickly implement from California's example would have a hugely
exponential effect on GHG reduction. The opportunity to provide
leadership is ours.

On the transportation front, the desperate need for increased
public transit investment is evident to all policymakers,
environmentalists, housing and environmental justice advocates and
the average citizen. So far, it is just the political will, wisdom
and true commitment to the future that has kept us from acting.
Without delay, we need to increase the budget for expanded public
transit, financed through carbon program revenues and creative
state and federal tranportation budget planning. In addition, we
need to adopt programs such as congestion pricing that change
commuters’ behavior and move them out of SOVs to public transit or
charge them more for the privilege and environmental cost of
driving and parking a car.

On the community design front, let us please empower the regional
agencies to finally fulfill their mission. In the 1980s as an
urban planning student, I learned about the foundational arguments
for the creation of regional planning agencies. However, these
agencies have not yet been given the teeth to execute the degree
of coordination that is required to achieve the kind of
sustainable, mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly development that many
of us planners have been pining for for decades. The MPOs should
be given a suite of policy tools and  transportation money to
reward those localities who demonstrate the courage and leadership
to include very specific sustainable design criteria in their
General Plans and who succeed in discouraging continued big box
retail, suburban office parks or tract home developments and,
instead, succeed in encouraging mixed-use, pedestrian friendly,
community enriching, transit-oriented developments.  In addition,
incentives that protect prime agricultural land, conserve forests
and encourage urban and suburban small agriculture need to
adopted.  Let’s also reexamine CEQA to determine how we might
streamline the time and cost associated with bringing a truly
sustainable project to fruition while penalizing those developers
who are change-resistant.

To conclude, we all recognize the difficulty of funding the broad
changes alluded to herein, particularly given the state’s current
budget crisis.  While the cumulative benefits for climate change
will be huge, they will also accrue to improved environmental
justice, household economics, social equity and general quality of
life for all California citizens that will eventually be repaid in
increased state tax revenue.  CARB, the Governor and the
Legislature must act decisively in order to reap the cumulative
benefits of improved land use patterns and if that means
recognizing that the concerns of some constituents and lobbying
groups are short-sighted and less worthy, so be it. Be bold! The
devil will be in the details. A Blue-Ribbon Committee of
far-sighted developers, urban planners and designers, and other
land use experts would be an effective way of ensuring that the
appropriate design and wording of policies is worked out.

Thank you for your consideration.

Original File Name:

Date and Time Comment Was Submitted: 2008-08-03 22:00:26