How SB 375 Is going down in Dublin

DUBLIN, Ireland -- Mike McKeever and I traveled 5,000 miles east from California this week to debate SB 375 in front of a Trans-Atlantic audience of planning and policy wonks at University College Dublin. Characteristic of how we each look at things, when we sit down to answer questions, my water glass was mostly empty and his was mostly full. My presentation focused on the background of AB 32 and SB 375 and the challenges associated with implementing the regional Sustainable Communities Strategies, such as the one adopted by the Sacramento Area Council of Governments, of which McKeever is the executive director. The American sponsors of the symposium were the National Center for Smart Growth at the University of Maryland and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. My bottom line was this: Under SB 375, neither the state nor the regions can coerce local governments to follow the SCSs; and it’s unlikely there are enough financial inducements available – especially with the loss of redevelopment – for the state and the regions to compel the locals to do the right thing.

[Read More...]