September 2001

By James Lawlor

California: Planning bills galore. Sometimes it seems that virtually every member of the California legislature has something to say about planning and wants to express it by filing legislation. Faced with over 300 planning-related bills, the chapters legislative review teams met in March and winnowed the watch list down to 90, legislative representative Sande George reports.

It seems that virtually every member of the California legislature has something to say about planning and wants to express it by filing legislation. Faced with over 300 planning-related bills, the chapter's legislative review teams met in March and winnowed the watch list down to 90, legislative representative Sande George reports. A high priority is A.B. 857, which was drafted by the chapter's State Plan Task Force. It would require the state to develop a comprehensive plan articulating a 20-year vision based on specified planning goals. Local planning agencies would be required to incorporate the state vision in their general plans.

Current law, enacted in 1970, requires the governor to prepare a comprehensive environmental goals and policy report, which is supposed to be updated every four years. However, the report has been updated only twice since the law's enactment, in 1973 and 1978.

The chapter is working with the bill's author, state assembly member Patricia Wiggins (D-Santa Rosa), to ensure that the legislation encourages development on land served by existing infrastructure, and supports farmland and open space preservation.

The bill has passed the assembly and is presently in a senate committee. George says it is scheduled to be taken up by a conference committee in the fall along with S.B. 294, a bill that would require new state infrastructure funding criteria to be consistent with the state vision.

The chapter also is backing A.B. 1244, which would promote the construction of affordable housing and require careful planning for housing sites. This bill is an alternative to S.B. 910, which would impose penalties on local governments whose plans do not include a housing element approved by the state Department of Housing and Community Development. The chapter is part of a working group that is attempting to amend S.B. 910 to require certain reforms before noncompliance penalties could be imposed.

Finally, the chapter is a cosponsor of A.B. 1367, a bill that would promote consultation between local planning agencies and school districts on school siting questions, and A.B. 1553, which requires the state to develop guidelines for addressing environmental justice issues in city and county general plans.

Georgia: Serious about water. How to ensure an adequate supply of clean water for the metropolitan Atlanta area and the rest of the state was a major topic of this year's legislative session, reports Jerry Weitz, AICP, the chapter's vice-president for legislative affairs.

On April 5, Gov. Roy Barnes signed S.B. 130, the North Georgia Water Planning District Act. The measure establishes a body to develop comprehensive regional and watershed plans for 18 counties in the Atlanta area. The plans are to cover water supply and conservation, stormwater management, wastewater treatment, and water quality. The district's governing board will include representatives of 18 counties and the mayors of cities with a population of 200,000 or more.

The planning district's initial task is to prepare one or more model ordinances that local governments can use to promote effective stormwater management. The ordinances also must include minimum design and development standards for projects that could affect stormwater runoff quality.

The legislation gives the new board two years to prepare a watershed management plan applicable to all the watersheds within the district. The plan must coordinate with existing local government watershed planning efforts. In addition, the district must prepare a short-term plan to provide additional wastewater capacity. Within two years, it must develop a 20-year wastewater management plan and a water supply and conservation management plan. Any local government that fails to adopt the applicable plans developed by the district will be ineligible for state grants and loans for a variety of water projects.

A separate senate resolution, S.R. 142, establishes a joint legislative study committee to carry out a comprehensive analysis of statewide water issues and policies and to develop a long-term plan for addressing those issues.

Key issues include the recent drought in the Southeast, the possibility of saltwater intrusion into the Floridian aquifer, depletion of water resources in the Flint River basin, and the allocation of water to Georgia and its neighbors. The study committee is directed to report back to the legislature by September 1, 2002.

Ohio: Policy statement adopted. At its May meeting, the chapter board adopted a new legislative policy statement. The statement notes that local governments in Ohio often lack authority to deal with even fairly simple land-use problems. New regulatory authority and tools are needed.

Specific recommendations include statutory authority for counties and townships to enact zoning in order to promote the general welfare and encourage agricultural preservation; authority to require developments to use planned unit development provisions; and enhanced authority to review subdivisions.

The statement also recommends giving local governments authority to regulate on a multijurisdictional basis stormwater management, sedimentation and erosion, and other environmental concerns. Finally, the statement urges that local governments be given power to control vehicle access onto county and township roads, and to impose impact fees on new development.

The chapter plans to hold a legislative information session this month in Columbus, the state capital. The event will include a reception for legislators and their staff members, giving them a chance to become acquainted with the chapter's work.