August 2002

By James Lawlor

Illinois: Third Time's the Charm? On the third try, the legislature enacted a bill to aid local governments in developing comprehensive planning, chapter legislative chair Sharon Caddigan, AICP, reports. Gov. George Ryan to signed it into law August 1.

H.B. 4023, the Local Planning Technical Assistance Act, is the first significant attempt to update Illinois planning laws in more than 50 years, Caddigan points out. The bill has six objectives: to provide technical assistance to local governments in developing planning ordinances and regulations; to encourage local governments to engage in planning and policies that promote comprehensive planning; to develop model ordinances and technical publications that will promote comprehensive planning; to report on the impact of activities funded by state demonstration grants; to support local planning in communities with limited finances, and to support coordinated local planning efforts.

Getting the legislation passed has been a gradual education process for both legislators and local governments, Caddigan said. Stuart Meck, FAICP, and John Bredin of APA's Growing Smart project drafted the initial version of the bill in 1999, at the request of the Chicago-area Metropolitan Planning Council. The council's vice president for policy and planning, Scott Goldstein, played a prominent role in lining up legislative support for the bill. When Rep. Ricca Slone of Peoria first introduced the bill, it went nowhere, due in part to fairly widespread lack of knowledge on the part of legislators about the function and importance of planning. After members of the house were brought up to speed, the legislation stalled in the senate for much the same reasons. Once the educational process had been completed in both houses, and local government agencies were reassured that the bill not represent a state power grab, the stage was set for enactment.

Earlier this summer, there was some question whether the governor would sign the bill, in light of the tight revenue situation in which Illinois, like so many other states, finds itself. The bill does not commit the state to any specific funding level, but Goldstein believes there may be some discretionary money available to the governor to get the program rolling.

Contact Sharon Caddigan, 630-837-0200; legislative@ilapa.org.

New Hampshire: Planning Coordination. The legislature has enacted a bill, H.B. 712, (ch. 229, Laws of 2002), intended to coordinate state, regional, and local land-use planning, and encourage smart growth. It is an outgrowth of a study conducted by the Office of State Planning under smart growth policy legislation passed in 2000 (N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. ch. 9-B). The bill calls for development of a state comprehensive plan, which will form the basis for identifying critical issues facing the state, determining state priorities, allocating resources, and taking into account plans of state, regional, and local governments. It also calls for consultation among the office of state planning, state government department heads, regional planning agencies, local planning agencies, representatives of the business and environmental communities, and the general public.

The comprehensive plan must include at a minimum 13 "goals and policies," beginning with an overall vision section to serve as direction for the other parts of the plan, with special emphasis on the smart growth principles enacted in 2000. Other required elements of the plan included sections on land-use, transportation, public facilities, housing, economic development, and natural resources. Also included are sections on natural hazards, recreation, utility and public services, regional concerns, state policies on protecting cultural and start resources, and a long-range action program for evaluating the effectiveness of the plan.

The state plan is to be reviewed or revised every four years, while regional plans must be updated at least every five years. The legislation states regional planning commissions may use the state's comprehensive development plan as a framework for developing their plans, but are not required to do so. Whenever regional planning authorities and local authorities are developing comprehensive plans, they are required to consult with each other, the Office of State Planning, and the general public.

Contact Ben Frost, New Hampshire Office of State Planning, 603-271-2155, ben.frost@osp.state.nh.us

Massachusetts: Compromise Environmental Funding Bill Passes. Just before adjourning July 31, the house and senate unanimously approved a conference committee report resolving differences between the two houses' bills authorizing funding for preservation of the state's environmental assets. The bill is now on Gov. Jane Swift's desk.

The compromise approximately splits the difference between the house and senate versions, approving bond indebtedness of $707.4 million for environmental preservation projects and $46.5 million for local water pollution control assistance grants. The house bill had authorized $596.5 million in funding for environmental preservation, including protection of open space and farmland, watersheds, and wildlife habitat. The senate version called for $955.5 million.

The conference committee stripped from the bill the senate-passed Livable Communities Act, that would have required regional planning commissions and municipalities receiving state planning assistance funds to establish sustainable development plans.

See the July Statehouse column for more details on the Livable Communities Act.

Contact Lyn Billman-Golemme, AICP, 508-799-0500.