COALITION FOR SMARTER GROWTH

PRESS RELEASE
January 27, 2006

STATEMENT ON HOUSE GROWTH MANAGEMENT PLAN

The following is a statement from Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, on the announcement from the Virginia House of Delegates regarding growth management:

"We are encouraged by the bi-partisan leadership in support of better planning of transportation and land use. We are glad officials are beginning to respond to voter requests to halt poorly planned growth due to the traffic problems it creates.

The House of Delegates proposals would ensure that transportation costs and needs are better delineated by local governments. The proposals would also require a study of the transportation impacts of proposed comprehensive plans, rezonings and subdivisions. The House proposals also expand the use of developer cash proffers to offset transportation impacts.

The measures proposed by the House, Senate and Governor provide more tools to local governments. However, state and local governments need to do much more to stop runaway development from creating traffic nightmares and financial burdens.

State taxpayers will never be able to afford the amount of transportation infrastructure needed to match the spread out and scattered development that we are seeing. Moreover, a number of major, costly projects that remain priorities for VDOT will make the development and traffic problems worse, not better. Without reconsideration of current project priorities and their land use impacts, the verdict is still out on whether any of the transportation funding proposals is appropriate.

The current proposals are the first step of many needed to ensure that "runaway development doesn’t clog our roads or ruin Virginia’s beautiful landscapes."

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