California's New Smart Growth Law Isn't So New

"The newspapers have been calling California's smart growth and climate change bill“precedent setting,” but it’s got nary a new idea in it. If you peel back the layers, you’ve got what old-timers like me call a “growth management law” – one that ties transportation funding to growth patterns.

The ideas in SB 375 -- which has passed the Assembly and appears certain to be signed by Gov. Schwarzenegger -- have been kicking around Sacramento for 20 years. The question now whether SB 375 – combined with all the other darned laws we already have in place here in California – will actually influence the state’s growth patterns.

It’s important to remember, however, that SB 375 is only one of several state laws and policies dealing with growth – and unless the Schwarzenegger administration is serious about using all of them consistently, the impact of the new law is likely to be reduced."