Russ Steele
Just in case you read this Yubanet Article Sierra Solutions Conference Topics Validated by Anti-Sprawl Bill. It leaves the incorrect impression, that CARB will be setting our Sierra regional greenhouse-gas emissions levels. Compliance with SB 375 is voluntary in rural counties, it only applies to Metropolitan Planning Organizations. (See map below)
SBC President, Steve Frisch has long been an advocate of pedestrian and bike friendly community planning and has championed many initiatives in the Truckee and Tahoe region. "Traffic and quality of life can't get better until people simply get out of their cars more. This is a basic premise behind our Sierra Nevada Local First program-keep our community unique, make it easy to shop local, and reduce environmental impacts-SB 375 encourages us to do that by incentivizing mixed use, infill, transit-oriented and town centered development." states Frisch.
SB 375 requires the California Air Resources Board to set regional targets by September 2010 for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.
As you can see from the above map (click for a larger image), Nevada County and most of the Sierra
Counties are not in the 17 MPO that are required to comply with SB 375
and set greenhouse gas targets. Rural planning organizations in the
Sierra Counties are not required to use the California Transportation
Commission guidelines for modeling greenhouse gas emissions targets set
by CARBs. It is voluntary for rural counties. So, how long do you
think it will be before all the environmental NGOs are demanding local
governments adopt these volunteer targets? Six weeks, six months, a
year? Want to start a pool?
