 | Creating Transportation Options in the San Joaquin Valley Through Improved Land Use Patterns
San Joaquin Valley, CaliforniaAbstractThis project forms a unique partnership among the regional air pollution control district, local government, the building industry, business alliances, farming organizations, and non-profit groups to promote smart growth in California's San Joaquin Valley. The San Joaquin Valley is an ethnically diverse and economically challenged region of 3 million people that is expected to grow to 6 million by the year 2020. Much of this growth will occur on the nation's most productive farmland and in an air basin classified as a serious nonattainment area for fine particulate matter (PM-1 0) and soon to be reclassified severe nonattainment for ozone. The partners have come to recognize that without a change in patterns of development, the agricultural economic base of the region will decline, transportation infrastructure will become increasingly congested and poorly maintained, and people will continue to be exposed to harmful levels of air pollution. The project builds upon previous work of the Growth Alternatives Alliance (GAA) which is comprised of the American Farmland Trust, the Building Industry Association of the San Joaquin Valley, the Fresno Business Council, the Fresno Chamber of Commerce, and the Fresno County Farm Bureau. The GAA achieved unprecedented success in gaining resolutions of support for the smart growth principles contained in its document A Landscape of Choice: Strategies for Improving Patterns of Community Growth from the County of Fresno and its 15 cities. The guiding principles include efficient land use in urban areas, livable communities emphasizing pedestrian and transit-oriented design, and protecting productive farmland. This project fulfills requests from Valley communities for assistance in implementing the principles through model ordinances, design guidelines and implementation strategies. After completion of this first phase, the City of Fresno, the largest city in the San Joaquin Valley, and the City of Reedley, representing small cities, will participate in pilot projects to implement the ordinances and strategies in their communities. During the project and after completion, the Local Government Commission will use its extensive livable communities network to share the project Valley-wide and nationally. Previous Page |
