SCANPH Advocates for CARB to Set Southern California on Course to Achieve Economic Growth and Create Healthy Communities
This summer, the California Air Resource Board (CARB) is taking the first steps towards determining how healthy, livable and walkable we should expect California communities to become over the next 25 years. As many of you may know, SB 375 was passed by the State Legislature (with strong support by the Governor) to create more livable, walkable communities by promoting the development of more homes for area workers and transit riders near job centers and transit. SCANPH is working closely with ClimatePlan, a diverse statewide coalition pushing for strong implementation of SB 375.
Potential Benefits of SB 375 Include Economic Growth, Healthy Communities, and Federal Investment
SB 375 is projected to be an engine for economic growth, the revitalization of downtown areas, the reduction of traffic and pollution, and the creation of healthier communities. As such, it is intended to promote more compact development in downtown areas and near transit, as well as the production of more homes affordable to the entire workforce. In addition, federal and state agencies are targeting planning and implementation moneys (including funds for housing) for regions that demonstrate they are building the types of communities promoted by SB 375.
Support for Strong Implementation of SB 375 Shown at June 24 Hearing
CARB is the agency designated to set the regional targets for how ambitiously SB 375 should be implemented in different regions of the state (as measured by how much of a reduction in greenhouse gas due to changes in land use should be expected from each region). On June 24, CARB held a hearing in Sacramento on SB 375 implementation. Thirty people testified in support of strong regional targets, including three local elected officials, several physicians and health professionals, infill builders, and advocates from all of California's major regions. In addition, there were 25 local officials or governments that wrote letters or passed resolutions in support of ambitious targeting, including, from our Southern California Region: Gloria Molina, Chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors; Pam O'Connor, Mayor Pro Tem, City of Santa Monica; Beth Krom, Councilmember, City of Irvine; Tom LaBonge, Councilmember, City of Los Angeles; Ed P. Reyes, Councilmember, City of Los Angeles; Gleam O. Davis, Councilmember, City of Santa Monica; Terry O'Day, Councilmember, City of Santa Monica; Bill Roschen, President, Los Angeles City Planning Commission; the City of Huntington Park; and the City of Santa Monica.
CARB Releases Draft Regional Targets
The CARB also released draft target ranges for 2020 and 2035. For the four big Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) (including our Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG)), the range proposed for 2020 was a 5-10% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. For 2035, CARB adopted very wide "placeholder" ranges, from 3-19%, that are identical to the ranges the MPOs submitted in their scenarios. This reflects the uncertainty and inconsistency surrounding the MPOs' treatment of 2035 - some actually suggest that their 2035 targets should be lower than in 2020. The MPOs acknowledged that there were problems with their 2035 scenarios and they committed to working on it more over the course of the summer. ClimatePlan submitted a letter to CARB that commented specifically on the MPO scenarios and was signed by several of its coalition members, including SCANPH. [link to letter].
SCANPH Urging More Ambitious Implementation of SB 375
SCANPH is working with ClimatePlan to ensure that there are more ambitious targets set for 2035 so that the Southern California region can reap all the potential economic, health, and federal and state investment benefits of SB 375. CARB has organized three workshops in our region to hear the public's view of the draft targets: Los Angeles (7/20), Corona (7/22) and Ventura (7/23). Crucial to persuading CARB to adopt more ambitious targets for the region is to have more Southern California public officials and private developers - particularly outside of Los Angeles County -- send letters or testify in support of them. SCANPH will be contacting many of you for help in this effort. For more information, please contact Lisa Payne, lpayne@scanph.org
