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Greenbelt Alliance In the News
June 11, 2009
Report: Bay Area has ample room to grow
Lisa Vorderbrueggen
The Bay Area has ample room within its existing communities to house and employ the 2 million new residents projected to call the region home by 2035, according to a report unveiled Wednesday.
Titled "Grow Smart Bay Area," Greenbelt Alliance's new study makes the case that the Bay Area can say no to suburban sprawl and still accommodate new residents and jobs.
Alliance researchers consulted with planning experts and analyzed the development potential of some 40,000 vacant or underutilized sites located near existing transit and other public services.
Researchers identified seven "smart spots" where they believe higher density development makes sense, including along San Pablo and Telegraph avenue corridors through Oakland and Berkeley, and swaths of low density swaths near BART stations in southern Alameda County.
In Contra Costa, the alliance concludes that more intense development could occur near BART stations in Walnut Creek, the former Concord Naval Weapons Station and in Pittsburg.
Smart growth proponents say attractive, walkable neighborhoods near public transit with a range of home sizes and where residents can work and shop nearby reduce traffic congestion, crime and air pollution, and allow for more efficient delivery of public services.
The 50-year-old alliance has for many years advocated the siting of new homes, shops and offices within city limits as a means to curb suburban sprawl and protect open space. It has been one of the most vocal proponents of growth boundaries including Contra Costa County's urban limit line.
But the latest report signifies the alliance's intent to ramp up the political pressure on local and state leaders to implement smart growth policies.
"I see the stars aligning for smart growth," Greenbelt Alliance Executive Director Jeremy Madsen told several hundred people gathered in San Francisco on Wednesday morning in the famed Carnelian Room with its panoramic view of the Bay. "At the federal, state and local levels, we are increasingly seeing a willingness to use legislation to encourage smart growth."
The concept has undeniably gained momentum, fueled, in large part, by concern about the Bay Area's infamous traffic congestion and the rising costs of providing services such as water, roads, transit and schools.
A regional coalition called the Bay Area Alliance for Sustainable Communities, Contra Costa County and its cities, among other regions statewide, have adopted smart growth blueprints in the past few years.
While the blueprints are advisory, the most significant smart growth legislation is a bill signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last year that ties state transportation dollars to local land use decisions.
Smart growth proponents also expect the state's new greenhouse gas reduction regulations will spur the adoption of further policies that encourage the construction of housing, shops and offices near transit.
Read the Greenbelt Alliance's new growth report at www.growsmartbayarea.org.
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