Brownfields Bill and Legislative Drama

The movement of the brownfields bill currently before the Senate HB6097 is a fascinating legislative case study.

The 48-page bill seeks to limit liability, hold polluters accountable and expedite clean ups -- all without providing new resources for remediation or reuse.

The bill is the result of three years of stakeholder task force research and reports. It sailed through the House with relative ease just before 11 PM on Friday but is bogged down in the Senate.

Yesterday, the following interests swarmed the Senate to advocate for their preferred langauge: the Department of Economic and Community Development, the Department of Environmental Protection, the cities of Stamford, Waterbury and New Haven, the Connecticut Conference of Municipalities, the Connecticut Business and Industry Association, brownfield developers, and brownfield attorneys.

With thousands of brownfield sites across the state, the stakes are high. Will all the advocacy result in a bill that cleans up polluted sites, protects our environment, and puts underutilized, vacant and abandoned properties back to life, generating economic activity and tax revenue?

No question, it's a difficult balance, but one we can't wait any longer to reach.

Redesigning the Edgeless Capitol Region

The Regional Plan Association and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy have been working together to research policies to redesign suburban activity centers. The Capitol Region Council of Governments brought the work to Hartford this week.

If the two-day session on Redesigning the Edgeless City didn't fit into your schedule, please see the resource materials at http://www.rpa.org/2009/04/redesigning-the-edgeless-city.html. The workshop's focus was planning performance-based solutions for sucessful urban places in a carbon-constrained world.

A highlight of day one was a discussion of the seven principles of sustainable community design.

• Conserve land and services within a 5 minute walk to transit.
• Provide diferent dwelling types in the same neighborhood, and even the same street.
• Dwellings should present a friendly face to the street.
• Car storage and services should be handled at the rear of dwelling units.
• Interconnect the street network.
• Make streets narrow and shade with rows of trees.

Day two will include a Capitol Region planning exercise.

AARP releases recommendations on making streets friendlier for older folks

AARP Public Policy Institute Releases “Planning Complete Streets for an Aging America”

This report addresses the need to create Complete Streets that are safe and convenient for travel by automobile, foot, bicycle and transit regardless of age or ability. The study encourages roadway planners and engineers to approach road design through the lens of Complete Streets and employ design strategies that support older drivers and pedestrians. Findings from original research conducted for this study show that:

· Two-thirds of planners and engineers report that they have not yet begun considering the needs of older road users in their multi-modal planning.

· More than 80 states and localities have adopted Complete Streets policies, but less than one-third of these explicitly address the needs of older road users.

· Forty percent of adults age 50 and older report inadequate sidewalks in their neighborhoods. More sobering, nearly 50 percent report they cannot cross main roads close to their home safely.

The report suggests revisions to five intersection treatments in the Federal Highway Design Handbook for Older Drivers and Pedestrians to better balance the needs of both older drivers and pedestrians.

The paper recommends three basic planning and design principles:

Slow Down – Engineer roadways to reduce vehicle travel speeds in areas where drivers and pedestrians interact and where older drivers and pedestrians need more time to make decisions.

Make It Easy - Make the physical layout of the transportation network easy to navigate for older drivers and pedestrians by creating a connected network of streets with lower-speed routes and intersections that are easier to maneuver.

Enjoy the View - Make it easy for drivers and pedestrians to notice, read, understand, and respond to visual cues by reducing sign clutter, creating better access management, and improving landscaping, signs, and lighting to make the roadway more intuitive.

Find the report at: http://assets.aarp.org/rgcenter/il/2009_02_streets.pdf

Academy of Pediatrics says how we build is bad for our kids!

Today, the American Academy of Pediatrics adopted a ground-breaking policy statement on the link between how we build communities and the health of the children in those communities.

"The current approach to development isn't good for kids." Richard Jackson, Professor and Chair, Environmental Health Sciences UCLA School of Public Health, says.

http://aappolicy.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/pediatrics;123/6/1591

CNU Award Winning Video

PrintEmailBuilt to Last 
BY CLIFF KUANGFri May 15, 2009 at 4:24 PM

The Congress for New Urbanism recently held a competition to explain just what the connection is between urban planning and the environment--and if you're fuzzy on the issue, you need to watch the winning video, created by John Paget. 

Legislative Count Down

For robust cities and downtowns, to sustainably grow our state and local economies, and to protect critical natural resources, we must make comprehensive changes to the state’s development policies and investment priorities. Those changes must include: 1. reducing our reliance on the property tax; 2. improving regional cooperation; 3. modernizing local zoning codes; and 4. investing strategically and in the long-term best interests of the people and the state.

The 2009 session of the Connecticut General Assembly ends June 3rd. A Smart Growth Working Group of legislators and stakeholders labored mightily this past year to create a comprehensive legislative package.

The following is an update on the progress of the smart growth agenda date. Below, please see the status of bills in the smart growth package and those that were not introduced as part of the official package but would shift our growth patterns toward smart, sustainable development.

The list includes bill status and an impact rating. (Positive\high impact means 1000 Friends of Connecticut supports the legislation and it will result in a meaningful change to where and how we develop as a state.

Contact your State Representative and State Senator and ask them to support positive\high impact and positive\moderate impact bills. We also ask you to contact legislators to intervene to fix the bad bill.

Senate Democrats: 860/240-8600 Senate Republicans: 860/240-8800
House Democratic Leadership: 860/240-8500 House Democratic Rank & File: 860/240-8585
House Republican Leadership: 860/240-8700 House Republican Rank & File: 860/340-8787

HB6585 An Act Concerning Regionalism Positive/High Impact Allows a portion of the sales tax to be shared on a regional basis so long as the towns within regions meet prescribed criteria, including adopting a regional comprehensive economic development strategy and working together to gain efficiencies. House Calendar 309
HB6561 An Act Concerning State Support for Regional Initiatives Positive/High Impact
Provides $50 million from the sales tax to municipalities that cooperate regionally to meet prescribed criteria. House Calendar 600
HB6467 An Act Concerning Smart Growth and Plans of Conservation and Development Negative/Potential High Impact
Defines “smart growth” and establishes smart growth principles, gives OPM extra time to complete the next iteration of the state land use plan, authorizes the Legislative Continuing Committee on the Plan of Conservation and Development to review state planning, and REQUIRES THE STATE PLAN TO CONFORM TO 169 LOCAL PLANS. Passed House, Senate Calendar 621

HB6097 An Act Concerning Brownfields Development Positive/Moderate Impact
Allows brownfield remediation and redevelopment of historic mills in flood plains so long as the new development is within the existing footprint, establishes a timeframe for remediation, and provides some liability relief. House Calendar

SB1033 An Act Establishing a Tax credit for Green Buildings Positive/Moderate Impact
Would provide a tax credit for LEED Certified buildings on transit oriented sites. LCO

SB271 An Act Concerning Floodplain Management and Mill Properties Positive/Moderate Impact
Allows for mill property reuse in floodplain so long as new development occurs within old mill activity and all critical activity is above the 500-year-floodplain. Passed Senate, House Calendar 624

HB5267 An Act Concerning the Use of Small Town Economic Assistance Program Funds to Convert Prime Farmland to Nonagricultural Use Positive/Moderate Impact
Would prohibit the use of STEAP grants on prime farmland. House Calendar 318

HB6464 An Act Concerning Coordinated Preservation and Development Positive/Moderate Impact
Would require certain state investments be screened for compliance with smart growth. House Calendar 916
SB384 An Act Promoting Regionalism Positive/Low Impact
Creates a grant program for any two cooperating towns. Passed Senate on consent. House Calendar 625
SB735 An Act Improving Bicycle and Pedestrian Access Positive/Low Impact
Would require a reasonable sum, but not less than one percent, of all transportation projects be devoted to bike and pedestrian amenities. Senate Calendar 970
HB6387 An Act Concerning The Small Town Economic Assistance Program
House Calendar 242 Positive/Low Impact
SB384 An Act Promoting Regionalism Passed Senate House Calendar 625 Positive/Low Impact
HB6588 An Act Concerning Training for Local Land Use Commissioners Passed House, Senate Calendar 623, Positive/Low Impact
HB6463 An Act Concerning Membership on Regional Planning Agencies Passed House, Senate Calendar Positive/Low Impact
HB6466 An Act Concerning Projects of Regional Significance Passed House, Senate Calendar
Neutral/Low Impact
SB379 Pilot Land Value Tax Senate Calendar 228 Neutral/Low Impact
HB6589 An Act Concerning Land Use Appeals Passed House, Senate Calendar Neutral/Low Impact
HB6595 An Act Concerning the State Conservation and Development Policies Plan
House Calendar 382 Neutral/Low Impact
HB5254 An Act Extending Certain Permits Passed House, Senate Calendar Neutral/Low Impact

Find your legislators on the Web at http://www.cga.ct.gov/. Click on House or Senate then leadership or members. Or, call us 860/523-0003. We’ll help you track them down.

Taking a furlough day? Contact us if you’d like to volunteer. info at 1000friends-ct dot org

Century of the City Released -- get your free copy

Century of the City: No Time to Lose
by Neal R. Peirce and Curtis W. Johnson with Farley M. Peters
The Rockefeller Foundation 447 Pages

One in every ten people lived in urban areas a century ago. Now, for the first time ever, most people live in cities. By 2050, the United Nations projects, almost three-quarters of the world's population will call urban areas home. The majority of this growth is centered in struggling, developing countries of the Global South, but cities in developed (or Global North) countries face increasingly complex challenges as well.

Around the world, unplanned urban expansion is multiplying slums, overburdening housing, transportation and infrastructure systems, stifling economic growth, and leaving millions vulnerable to new environmental and health threats.

To help manage and plan for this accelerating urbanization, the Rockefeller Foundation convened an exceptional group of urbanists--leading policy makers and government officials, finance experts, urban researchers, members of civil society organizations, and other innovators--for a Global Urban Summit at the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Center. This book shares their diverse perspectives, creative approaches, and urgent agenda for harnessing the vast opportunities of urbanization for a better world.

TO ORDER, email media@rockfound.org and include 'Century of the City' in the Subject line of the email form. There is no charge for the books; however, you can order only up to two copies this way.