Our Priorities
Build Support for SB 375 in Key Regions
The passage of California’s SB 375 creates an exciting venue for the ClimatePlan network to achieve our vision. But SB 375 won't achieve its full potential without effective advocacy and leadership in each of California's major regions, and in the local governments that compose those regions.
In the next two years, ClimatePlan will bring together community voices to lay the policy groundwork for successful adoption and implementation of Sustainable Communities Strategies. Just as importantly, ClimatePlan will help communities and regional leaders understand the tremendous opportunity that SB 375 provides. We will focus these efforts in the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California.
Recent News
Can San Joaquin valley cities afford not to plan? Some question wisdom of planning staff layoffs, Modesto Bee - June 21, 2010
By Garth Stapley
A golden opportunity for quality community planning is partly slipping away because government agencies can't afford to keep planners on the payroll. The recession has smothered demand for reviewing subdivision blueprints, allowing planners more time for long-range work that helps determine whether a city grows well or becomes a sprawling target for ridicule.
Link to article
Mayor Villaraigosa's 30/10 plan: Moving forward, Los Angeles Times - June 9, 2010
By Tim Rutten
The 30/10 transit plan is the most important initiative ever proposed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. If, as seems increasingly likely, it's embraced by Congress, it will become one of the nation's most significant public infrastructure projects.
Link to article
Cities have 'opportunity' to cut own greenhouse gases, The Desert Sun – May 7, 2010
By K. Kaufman
The Coachella Valley cities, along with local governments throughout Southern California, could be responsible for cutting their transportation-related greenhouse gas emissions by 8 percent in the next 10 years. Smart, sustainable community planning, rather than government regulations, would need to drive that change.
Link to article
Caine: Does Merced slow-growth imitative reflect a trend?
The Modesto Bee – May 27, 2010
By Eric Caine
Merced County citizens have taken a cue from Stanislaus County — they're circulating a petition that would require voter approval for residential development on farmland. The purpose is to wrest control of land use from county supervisors. If the group, Citizens for Quality Growth, can get enough signatures, the slow growth initiative would appear on the November ballot.
Link to article
Relevant Resources
Achieving Sustainability in California's Central Valley. (July 2009) This report assesses the capacity of the Central Valley’s cities to manage the economic, social, and environmental problems associated with expected rapid population growth.
By UC Davis Sustainable Transportation Center
Download the report (4.42 MB pdf)
Communities Tackle Global Warming: A Guide to California’s SB 375 (July 2009) By NRDC and CLCV
Download the guide (pdf, 893 KB)
Realizing the Potential of SB 375: An Index of ClimatePlan Partners and Their Work (Appendix to ClimatePlan's 2009-2011 Strategic Plan)
Download Appendix (pdf, 115 KB)
Southern California Association of Governments' (SCAG's)
SB 375 Conceptual Land Use Scenario
SCAG's Conceptual Land Use Scenario takes into account projected growth throughout the region and identifies areas of opportunity for compact, transit-oriented development near job centers and transit.
Download a presentation of the scenario (5.76 MB pdf)
SB 375 Is Now Law -- But What Will It Do?
By Bill Fulton, California Planning and Development Report, October 2008.
Link to article
DRAFT Policies for the Bay Area’s Implementation of Senate Bill 375, Joint Policy Committee, January 2009.
The Bay Area's Joint Policy Committee has released a draft document outlining a set of policies for the implementation of SB 375 in the Bay Area.
Download Draft Policy Statement (pdf, 80KB)
SB 375 Bill Text (Steinberg, 2008)
Download bill text (pdf, 225KB)