Tuesday, November 18, 2008

By MARTIN TUTTLE

last updated: June 26, 2008 10:41:14 AM

Los Angeles is often the bogeyman who motivates cities and counties to combat poor land-use planning and urban sprawl. The specter of unchecked sprawl leads to shouts of "We don't want the San Joaquin Valley to grow into another LA!"

That call to action has local leaders and citizens working to craft the San Joaquin Valley Blueprint, an action plan for growth decisions in the eight-county region from San Joaquin County to Kern County. The challenge: Can growth be directed in a way that improves the quality of life, or are we locked into a future of haphazard growth and traffic gridlock -- à la LA?

In blueprint workshops this summer, some Stanislaus County residents are calling for more livable communities and for enhancing the area's agricultural resources. This process is a chance for local officials to work more cooperatively.

The Valley Blueprint is modeled after "regional visioning" initiatives in several cities. Salt Lake City leaders launched Envision Utah to target investments for the 2002 Winter Olympics involving 18,000 citizens. Elected officials in the six-county capital region adopted the Sacramento Region Blueprint, involving public input and an unprecedented use of technology. Citizens and elected officials in southern Louisiana developed a shared vision to rebuild their communities after Hurricane Katrina. Even Los Angeles is attempting to reinvent itself with a new Regional Growth Vision.

Sacramento's effort should be a source of optimism for the San Joaquin Valley. The capital region faced projections of traffic congestion and poor air quality and had no clear strategy to avoid it. They asked: Could growth enhance the capital region's lifestyle and business climate?

As executive director of the Sacramento Council of Governments during the blueprint's conception and approval, I saw the transformation of the opinions and relationships of elected representatives when the general public became fully engaged. Later, as a private developer, I experienced how the regional visioning effort was more than an academic exercise -- new projects in the region's cities or counties now have to be "blueprint friendly" to have a good chance of being approved.

Elected officials found that the public was keenly interested in the region's future --more than 5,000 people participated. They also learned that forecasts of gridlock and bad air don't have to become destiny. People supported alternatives to avert urban sprawl and the regional visioning process helped identify options such as:

Encouraging a wider range of housing types for families without children, singles, seniors and others;

Discouraging auto-dependent development by mixing retail, office and housing in neighborhoods so people can walk to work or to shop;

Building on existing assets, such as historic downtowns, parks and commercial centers.

After two years of outreach and debate, the Blueprint for the Future was adopted unanimously by SacCOG in 2004.

The blueprint did more than lay out a land-use plan. It changed the way people think and talk about growth. We also created a database of all 800,000 parcels in the region. Now, jurisdictions can test land-use options for local and regional impacts on traffic and air quality. The region's new transportation plan performs better now that it is linked to better land uses and projects approved at the local level.

The discussions resulted in better relationships: Residents from Winters in Yolo County now have a far better connection to their urban neighbors in downtown Sacramento and with those in suburbs such as Roseville and Folsom. A regional identity and a sense that "we are all in this together" has emerged.

If the six-county Sacramento region can develop a growth vision, so can the eight-county San Joaquin Valley. The Valley Blueprint has the potential to lay out a strategy for a world-class region and be the springboard for the action needed to become one.

Tuttle is a consultant with the Great Valley Center. To see the Valley Blueprint, visit www.valleyblueprint.org.

Workshop Schedule

Workshops are open to anyone who wants to attend. Organizers ask that those who want to attend a meeting get there at least 30 minutes early to register.

No reservations are necessary. For more information, go to www.stancog.org/blueprint.shtm.

Today, 7 p.m., Alliance Free Enterprise Center, 1020 10th St., Suite 102

Monday, 7 p.m., Riverbank Community Center, 3600 Santa Fe St.

Tuesday, 6 p.m., City Council chambers, Hughson City Hall, 7018 Pine St.

July 10, 7 p.m., Louis J. Newman Memorial Building, 649 Orestimba Road, Newman

July 12, 10 a.m., DoubleTree Hotel, Maxi's Room, 1150 Ninth St.

July 15, 7 p.m., Gene Bianchi Community Center, 110 S. Second Ave., Oakdale

July 16, 7 p.m., City Council chamber, Ceres City Hall, 2210 Magnolia St.

In Spanish: Today, 5 p.m., El Concilio, 1314 H St., Modesto

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