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Abstract:
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This Article analyzes the aggressive, creative strategies of
promoting sustainable growth illustrated in the proposed federal
surface transportation bill, Oregon’s new law, and California’s recent
anti-sprawl legislation. This Article also reviews Portland, Oregon’s
green building policy as well as California’s statewide policy, and
concludes that strategies that reform the permitting process to provide
an incentive for infill green building development are ideally suited to
fulfill the mandate of Oregon’s S.B. 1059—or any state’s respective
goal to achieve sustainable growth and consequently reduce green house gas (GHG)
emissions. Specifically, this Article advocates adoption of form-based
codes for infill development that incorporate green building
elements as a method to spur construction within city centers and
along transit corridors. Due to the inherent flexibility of green
building rating systems, this technique allows a community to tailor
infill building projects to adhere to a particular standard form11 and yet still include desirable compact, mixed-use, and connectivity
components that have been proven to significantly reduce GHG
emissions. Importantly, this Article proposes to modify the
traditional building permitting process to allow for approval through a
state council if a particular project conforms to the local government’s
form-based code and includes certain smart-growth characteristics.
In this way, the very nonlocal impacts of GHG emissions from lowdensity
car-dependent development can be redressed by the state,
while at the same time ensuring the local community’s concerns are
addressed in the first instance. This balanced approach provides local
governments the continued ability to control their community’s sense
of place and also effectively reduces GHG emissions. |
