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Home Resource Center In the News Home Greenbelt Alliance in the News |
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Greenbelt Alliance In the News
June 28, 2006 Bay Area Cities Not Doing Enough to Prepare for Growth Subheading BylineSan Jose, Calif. (KCBS) -- A Greenbelt Alliance annual report finds most Bay Area cities aren't doing enough to properly prepare for the tremendous growth that's expected in the region. "What we found was that cities are doing just one-third of what we need to be doing to prepare for good growth and protection of the environment, and counties are doing a little bit better - they're doing about half of what's required to be sure the region grows well," Tom Steinbach with the Alliance told KCBS Reporter Matt Bigler. Its smart growth scorecard reviews the planning policies of the region's 101 cities and nine counties, assessing open-space and livable community issues. Cities were scored in seven areas while counties were scored in five. According to Greenbelt Alliance, those areas include preventing sprawl, making sure parks are nearby, creating affordable homes, encouraging density in the correct places and requiring less land for parking. On average, Bay Area cities score 34 percent out of a possible 100, meaning that only one-third of the localities have the necessary policies to achieve smart growth. The non-profit organization said Petaluma had the highest score with 70 percent. San Jose was second, scoring 69 percent. "San Jose comes out as number two in this scorecard. The reason for that is because the city has made a clear commitment to invest in public transit, in growth in its downtown, and in its parks and open spaces," said Greenbelt's Tom Steinbach. The report finds that the Bay Area will add one million new residents by the year 2020. ### |
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