SPRAWL-BUSTING URBAN GROWTH BOUNDARY (UGB)
MEASURES EMERGING ACROSS BAY AREA
* November UGB ballot measures in Fairfield (Solano County) and Novato
(Marin County) and January measure in Windsor (Sonoma County)
* Seven Bay Area UGBs adopted so far - as many as 14 communities
considering boundaries in the next 14 months
* Greenbelt Alliance releases new citizen guidebook on UGBs
With concerns rising about the environmental and economic costs of
low-density urban sprawl, communities in all parts of the Bay Area are
turning to sprawl-busting urban growth boundaries (UGBs). As many as 14
communities - from Half Moon Bay on the San Mateo coast to Fairfield in
Solano County to Milpitas in Santa Clara County - may enact UGBs in the
next 14 months. These efforts follow the recent adoption of seven other
UGBs in the last year, including four at the ballot box (the first of
their
kind in California).
Urban growth boundaries are a relatively new land use planning tool in
California. UGBs create a firm, long-term line around a community,
allowing no development outside the UGB for 20 years or more, while
encouraging new investment inside the boundary. UGBs are extensively used
in many European countries and are now required by state law for each
community in Oregon and Washington State. In California, there is no
state
mandate for UGBs, but they can be adopted by individual communities
through
their city councils or through voter approval at the ballot box.
*UGBs in this November's election*
Two communities will be voting on November 4 to establish long-term
boundaries: Fairfield (in Solano County) and Novato (in northern Marin
County). Fairfield's 23 year UGB is supported by an unusual coalition of
farmers, environmentalists, and military veterans who want to stop urban
sprawl from encroaching on Travis Air Force Base and prime farmlands in
Suisun and Green Valleys. Novato's UGB is supported by the entire city
council and a coalition of civic and environmental groups which want to
direct development away from the community's hillsides and bayshore areas.
Both measures, while protecting important community assets, would still
provide ample room for housing and commercial growth inside their
respective UGBs. In Fairfield, the new UGB not only protects the
surrounding landscape, it allows a 50% increase in the city's housing
stock.
"The fact that urban growth boundaries enable us to curb sprawl and
accommodate new development at the same time demonstrates that UGBs are
not
about no growth, they're about smart growth," said Jim Sayer, Executive
Director at Greenbelt Alliance.
*Other UGBs on the Bay Area's horizon*
Including Fairfield and Novato, as many as 14 Bay Area communities may
adopt urban growth boundaries in the next 14 months. The other 12
communities are:
South Bay and Peninsula: Los Gatos, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Palo Alto and
Saratoga in Santa Clara County. Half Moon Bay in San Mateo County. There
is also the possibility that Gilroy will be exploring a city-wide UGB to
protect the hillsides to the west and prime farmland to the east.
East Bay: Livermore in Alameda County.
North Bay: Cotati, Petaluma, Sonoma, and Windsor (which is scheduled for
consideration by the voters during a special election on January 6) in
Sonoma County.
If these communities all adopt long-term UGBs, they would join seven
cities
which approved UGBs over the last year:
South Bay: San Jose (approved unanimously by city council), Morgan Hill
(approved 3-1 by city council), Cupertino (approved unanimously by city
council).
East Bay: Pleasanton (approved by 75% of the voters in November 1996
election).
North Bay: Santa Rosa (59% voter approval in November 1996), Healdsburg
(71% voter approval), Sebastopol (66% voter approval).
Altogether, adoption of UGBs by all of these cities would mean that nearly
one-quarter of all Bay Area communities will have approved boundaries.
The
UGB trend also appears to be spreading beyond the Bay region. According
to
Greenbelt Alliance's Sayer, "We're getting inquiries about UGBs from all
over California, from Arcata to Ventura, from the Central Valley to the
Sierra Nevada."
*New coalitions*
Sayer also noted that UGBs have brought together powerful, win-win
coalitions not normally seen in land use battles. For example, San Jose's
UGB was endorsed by the Santa Clara Valley Manufacturing Group, Greenbelt
Alliance, the South Bay Affordable Housing Network and San Jose's Downtown
Business Association. Sonoma County's UGBs were endorsed by downtown
business associations, environmentalists, civic groups (like the League of
Women Voters) and major agricultural interests, especially the United
Winegrowers Association. "UGBs create a win-win situation for everyone,"
said Sayer. "Farmers avoid suburban encroachment, developers know
precisely where they can build, taxpayers know their hard earned dollars
won't be paying for extravagant service extensions, and the public knows
where their community stops and where the countryside begins."
*New guide to UGBs from Greenbelt Alliance*
Greenbelt Alliance has issued a new 75 page guide for citizens and public
officials on how to establish and maintain UGBs. Entitled Bound for
Success, the guide is packed with case studies and strategies for adopting
these sprawl-busting planning tools. It also includes verbatim examples
of
policies and ballot measures which anyone can use to establish an urban
growth boundary around their community. Copies of the report are
available
for $10 (shipping included) from Greenbelt Alliance by calling
415/543-4291
and using a major credit card, or mailing a check or money order to 116
New Montgomery, Suite 640, San Francisco 94105.
*About Greenbelt Alliance*
Greenbelt Alliance is the Bay Area's leading land conservation and urban
planning non-profit organization, with offices in San Francisco, San Jose,
Santa Rosa and Walnut Creek. Information on Greenbelt Alliance is
available on the Internet, through the World Wide Web:
http://www.greenbelt.org
### END ###
Jim Sayer
Executive Director
Greenbelt Alliance
116 New Montgomery, Suite 640
San Francisco, CA 94105
415/543-4291 (o)
415/543-4291 (fax)
jsayer@igc.apc.org
greenbelt@igc.apc.org
http://www.greenbelt.org