Your city’s future depends on YOU: DEMAND LOCAL CONTROL

  • by: Paul Machado
  • recipient: Bay Area state, county and local representatives

State and regional officials[1] are dictating how our towns and cities must grow – in the name of sustainability. They call it “smart growth,” a euphemism for overbuilding, rezoning and urbanization.

The result is unsustainable growth with negative consequences:

  • Dense high-rise office and housing developments

  • School overcrowding

  • Traffic congestion, lack of parking & unsafe streets

  • A burden on infrastructure and services

  • Serious decline in quality of life

  • Disregard for critical elements of sustainability[2] 

It’s time to challenge these so-called experts – who don’t live in our neighborhoods, but have no qualms about telling us how to live.

ADD YOUR VOICE NOW TO DEMAND LOCAL CONTROL.[3] 

Let your representatives know you don’t believe the unrealistic promises of “smart growth. “

Tell them you welcome guidelines – not mandates – and reject their power to withhold state and federal grants if cities don’t comply. In short, you do not accept their authority to override local planning and zoning regulations.

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[1 ] Plan Bay Area is a transportation, land use, housing strategy for the San Francisco Bay Area, approved July 18, 2013 by the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC). These officials are appointed – not elected—and have no  direct accountability for overseeing application of their directives, or responsibility to review situations in each city to which they send mandates. http://onebayarea.org/plan-bay-area.html

California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) policy includes the Density Bonus Law, which allows developers to override zoning regulations if they build below market rate (BMR) housing. The law provides incentives and concessions such as reduced parking requirements, greater height limits, reduced setback and minimum square foot requirements, which provide economic benefits to the developer.

[2]  Dimensions of Sustainability

http://www.exurbiachronicles.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Dimensions-of-Sustainability-Report-for-Elected-Officials.pdf

[3 ] Bay plan should guarantee local control

http://www.marinij.com/opinion/ci_23365604/editorial-bay-plan-should-guarantee-local-control?source=pkg

State and regional officials are dictating how our towns and cities must grow – in the name of sustainability. They call it “smart growth,” a euphemism for overbuilding, rezoning and urbanization. 


The negative impacts of these mandates are destroying our quality of life. 




  • If you’re fed up with oversized office buildings and stack-and-pack housing …




  • If you’re tired of being stuck in traffic at all hours of the day …




  • If your schools are growing more crowded and your streets are unsafe …




  • If your favorite mom-and-pop stores have been driven out of business …




  • If you no longer recognize your local community …




Add your voice now to BRING BACK LOCAL CONTROL

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