April 28, 2000
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GULF COAST GROWTH NEWS


Regional News

H-GAC suggests new planning approach
A different approach to long range planning that links development to transportation was suggested in a presentation by Jeff Taebel, Manager of Community & Environmental Planning at Houston-Galveston Area Council. Speaking before the H-GAC's Transportation Policy Council (TPC). Taebel outlined a process that considers impacts on community and quality of life, with the goal of "maintaining competitiveness in the new economy." Taebel noted that knowledge-based jobs are not tied to specific geographic locations, and that environment and quality of life are key assets in recruiting and retaining top talent. Calling for strategic investment to balance economy, community, and environment, the proposal noted that H-GAC's board adopted "Goals for Tomorrow" in 1998 that support this new approach. Showing maps of existing development trends, Taebel painted a picture of blanket development throughout the region, and suggested that an alternate approach might focus development on existing cities, towns, and activity centers. Such a plan would require a regional approach to transportation, he said. To explore these ideas, Taebel proposed land use/transportation scenarios be developed in a new planning process that would contain these steps:
- Achieve consensus on guiding principles
- Develop alternative scenarios
- Evaluation based on impacts on economy, community, and environment
- Select the preferred alternative
- Determine transportation investment that best supports the preferred alternative
The TPC also heard a presentation on transportation equity from Kari Hackett, Program Manager in Transportation Planning for H-GAC. Hackett said several cities and regions are being challenged in court for not adequately bringing low-income, elderly, and disabled people into the transportation planning process. He said H-GAC will have to bring new emphasis to involving these segments of the population.
The next TPC meeting is May 19 at 9:30 am at H-GAC, 3555 Timmons, second floor. The meetings are open to the public and public comments are invited.

Conformity and wetlands issues
As reported in Friday's Chronicle, emissions budget conformity issues may delay some regional road work, but speakers at the Transportation Policy Council meeting at H-GAC also pointed out that new federal wetlands rules that go into effect in June could cause huge delays as well. "This wetlands issue has blindsided a lot of people," said Alan Clark, Director of the Metropolitan Planning Organization. " This could affect many of the public works projects for counties and municipalities, not just highway projects." TxDOT's Gary Trietsch said "These new rules are going to cause us to re-evaluate and possibly re-permit some projects. We aren't totally stopped, but we have the drag chutes out." About the conformity issue, Trietsch also said "The biggest impact is I-10, where I can't sign a contract until we have conformity. There is the potential that no added capacity projects will be let where federal money is involved."

South Side Place
The first commuter park and ride service to Uptown from Fort Bend County and southwest Houston will be launched in mid-summer by TREK, the Transportation Management Organization (TMO), serving Uptown, the Galleria and Greenway Plaza. Approximately 30-35% of the employees in the Uptown area live in that southwest corridor. Also, the area is looking at plans for light rail or fixed guideway buses to run up and down the proposed Post Oak Boulevard Transit Mall. Apparently, one option being considered is a subway. An interesting possibility: the new high-design Renault CiVis rubber-tired train, which looks very similar to the light rail vehicle METRO has been showing for Main Street. For a picture of the CiVis: http://www.fonline.de/home/lars/civis/index.fr.html. The text is in French, but it basically describes a vehicle that is "halfway between a bus and tram and has an electric propulsion system with guidance system."

New initiatives
Several new initiatives are underway to look at growth and economic development in the region.
-Member of Congress Nick Lampson has formed four task forces to look at transportation, research & development, the environment, and regional cooperation. The groups met recently in Beaumont, Galveston, Houston, and Clear Lake. One common theme: the need for regional collaboration about many big picture issues, particularly transportation, air and water, and open space.
-The Center for Houston's Future is using a scenario project to help determine how to best build a sustainable base of leadership for the city's future. The group, which is a spin-off of the Greater Houston Partnership, has already had one session facilitated by the Centre for Generative Leadership and has two more scheduled for May and July.
-Houston Galveston Regional Area Mobility Partners is a new Greater Houston Partnership group being formed to advocate transportation solutions. The group is heavily focused on business and elected officials in the region. David Finklea of the GHP staff is facilitating HGRAMP.

Regional growth conference proposed
Considering the many projects to develop new approaches to growth that are occurring or have occurred in the region, the Houston Gulf Coast Smart Growth Initiative this week proposed a regional conference to be held in October to hear all the ideas and examine shared goals and visions. The conference would be probably be convened by a local foundation. The Initiative seeks the greatest possible inclusion of interests for the event. One immediate response to the proposal was the beginning of possible plans for similar events in Austin-San Antonio and Dallas, to begin to form a "triangle" of urban and suburban growth collaboration in eastern Texas.

Houston 2000 plan published
The final version of the Houston 2000 Strategic Transportation Plan is now available from the City of Houston's Planning Department.

Post completes New Urbanist developments in Houston, Dallas, Atlanta
Post Properties Inc. announced the completion and lease-up of three live-work-walk communities: Phase II of Post Addison Circle outside of Dallas, Post Parkside in Atlanta, and Phase I of Post Midtown Square in Houston. Like its cousin projects, the Houston development is a mix of residential, retail, and office space all located in close proximity to one another. Phase I of the community features 479 rental units and phase II, now under construction, will offer the city's first high-rise loft apartments, according to Post. Post Midtown is located in the area around West Gray on the METRO Trolley line and is two blocks from downtown. (PRNewswire, 04/24/00)

Buffalo Bayou water sources
Buffalo Bayou no longer has natural water sources feeding it. Except during rain, all the Bayou's water is waste water effluent. The original sources, artesian wells, have been pumped dry, sources said. In the meantime, one of the goals of the Buffalo Bayou Partnership is to make the waterway swimmable.

Betty Sue Flowers to speak
Scenario builder and author Betty Sue Flowers, Ph.D., will speak on "The Power of Myth in Creating the Future" on May 11 at 6:30 pm at the Houston-Galveston Area Council, 3555 Timmons, second floor. Professor Flowers wrote and edited the global scenarios for sustainable development sponsored by the World Business Council in Geneva and is currently working on scenarios for the future of biotechnology. A professor of English and former Associate Dean of Graduate Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, she edited the four television tie-in books in collaboration with Bill Moyers: Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth. She also served as series consultant for "The Power of Myth" and as a host for the radio series "The Next 200 Years." The event, which is hosted by the Citizens' Environmental Coalition, is free. RSVP to 713-528-3779.

Grand Parkway Segment C meeting set
A "Segment C Agencies Meeting" will be held on May 5 at 9 am in the George Memorial Library, 1001 Golfview Drive, in Richmond. One of the purposes of the meeting is to review options for routing the highway through the wetlands and flood plain north of Brazos Bend State Park.

Smart Growth Initiative news
Next meeting: Wednesday, May 24, at 11:30 at the Houston-Galveston Area Council, 3555 Timmins, second floor.
The Houston Gulf Coast Transportation Coalition will meet Wednesday, May 3, at 5 pm at the Gulf Coast Institute office, 2001 Kirby at San Felipe, Suite 500.


Texas

Barnes speaks on transit, state investments
Texas has not invested sufficient State dollars into education, research, and transportation to keep up with the needs of its people, says former Texas House Speaker and Lt. Governor, Ben Barnes Speaking at the LBJ Library in Austin, Barnes particularly noted the State's "decaying transportation system. Barnes implied that expansion of highways in many metropolitan areas of Texas is not practical, and spoke of having "to find alternative solutions." Barnes said the greatest barrier to an aggressive, public transit initiative is the 55-year old constitutionally dedicated state highway fund.

Pay-as-you-go insurance
Progressive Auto Insurance's pay-as-you-drive car insurance has had much success according to a recent article in the New York Times. Some 1,100 Texans have signed up for the program, saving an average of 25 percent on their insurance premiums. Progressive's system uses GPS technology to track when and where vehicles are used and how far they are driven and produces a bill much like a utility bill. Based on initial studies of the pay-as-you-go insurance done by the Environmental Protection Agency, policy analysts expect 10 to 20 percent reduction in driving if the fixed cost of insurance is shifted to a variable one. (New York Times, 4/19).

State is top U.S. producer of carbon dioxide, and then some
Only the United States, China, Russia, and Japan lead the state of Texas in the amount of carbon dioxide produced by electric power industry emissions from the consumption and flaring of fossil fuels, according to a story in the San Antonio Sustainable Building Coalition's April newsletter. Texas leads all other nations (and states) in the category. The story says nearly 20 percent of all such U.S. emissions are from Texas.

Wind power for sale in San Antonio
San Antonio's City Public Service is now offering customers the option to buy blocks of power generated by the wind in West Texas. The electric utility is the first in the state to actually offer the alternatives now to all customers. For more information, go to http://www.windtricity.com.


Notes From Other Places

Atlanta to host Partners for Smart Growth
The Partners for Smart Growth Conference has been announced by the Urban Land Institute. It will be held in Atlanta, December 4-6. This is the largest of all smart growth events. http://www.uli.org.

Sierra Club, NAHB trade words on sprawl
The Sierra Club released a new national report entitled, "Sprawl Costs Us All: How Your Taxes Fuel Suburban Sprawl". The report claims that suburban sprawl is not only hurting the environment, it is draining pocketbooks and raising taxes. The report breaks the subsidies that encourage sprawl into several broad categories and offers analysis, examples and figures from across the United States. Available at http://www.sierraclub.org/sprawl/. The National Association of Home Builders issued a response to the Sierra Club Report at http://www.usnewswire.com/topnews/Current_Releases/0413-138.html.

Georgia Governor signs green space law
Georgia Governor Roy Barnes' office has tapped 40 fast-growing counties - including nearly all of the Atlanta metropolitan area - for a new program designed to help local governments safeguard wetlands and green space. More than 10 counties have expressed a willingness to become eligible for a share of the $30 million earmarked for the voluntary initiative. Each county will have to develop and then submit to the state plans for setting aside 20 percent of their total land area as green space.

Reports warns California housing problems could affect state's economy
A new report from the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) warns that the dire state of California's affordable housing market could compromise the overall economic well-being of the state. The study found that California is home to the five most expensive housing markets in the country. "Housing shortages are chasing working households out of California's job-centers and if we don't do something about this crisis, the cost of housing will chase our workforce and our growing companies to other states where housing is more affordable," said Allan Zaremberg, president of the California Chamber of Commerce. To combat the rising cost of housing in California, businesses, labor, and housing advocates have bonded together to support a package of bills to provide financial incentives for creating new housing in high-growth areas, require full disclosure of the impacts of local growth, increase funding for low- and moderate-income housing, and promote infill housing developments. (Business Wire www.businesswire.com) 04/13/00)

'Smart Code' Targets rehabilitation of older buildings
Maryland Governor Parris N. Glendening recently led the way in the passage of his state's first "smart code, " which officials hope will stimulate redevelopment in some of the state's aging urban centers, such as Baltimore and Annapolis. The smart code is a takeoff on New Jersey's successful Rehabilitation Subcode governing the renovation of old buildings. The subcode puts a twist on building regulations because it provides clear language for the renovation of existing structures that may not readily fit the mold of new building codes. Developers have embraced the new standards, which make rehabilitation of older buildings more affordable and attractive. "Now we have practical rules. People will know how much things cost. We've transformed a regulatory crap shoot into an informed business decision," said Jane Kenney, commissioner in New Jersey's Department of Community Affairs. "A 25 percent savings on a building is not atypical." The renovation of existing buildings in downtown Newark, for example, has helped to revitalize the area. Businesses and now even residents are beginning to look to downtown for work and play. Maryland hopes to produce similar results with its smart code. The regulations have not yet been written, but lawmakers are looking forward to the opportunity. Meanwhile, the city of Wilmington, Del., has adopted New Jersey's Rehabilitation Subcode on a municipal level; and the U.S. Housing Department has drafted its own set of rules along the same lines. (Washington Post, www.washingtonpost.com, 04/24/00 P. B1)

Los Angeles school system full
To accommodate a surging student population, composed overwhelmingly of the children of recent immigrants, the beleaguered Los Angeles school district is going to have to build a new school every two weeks just to keep up. That's 150 schools in the next six years. This growth is occurring in the neighborhoods that are already the most densely populated west of the Mississippi, and this is where the new schools need to be located. To build its new schools, the district must first find and purchase sites. But that is increasingly difficult and expensive. There is very little open land. (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A32752-2000Apr17.html)

Arizona first state to require solar power generation
Arizona has become the first state to require electric utilities to produce a portion of their power from solar energy. A vote by the state’s Corporation Commission may increase utility bills for state residents, but could boost solar power in one of the nation’s sunniest states. The new standard requires providers to produce at least 50 percent of their renewable power from solar generating facilities. The remainder will come from other renewable sources, including methane from landfills, wind power, and biomass generators. At least 27 other states also mandate renewable sources for utilities, but Arizona is the first to require that solar energy make up a specific portion of that power. http://ens.lycos.com/ens/apr2000/2000L-04-27-07.html

Pittsburgh people-mover project
A proposal to build a futuristic, low-speed magnetic levitation peoplemover in Downtown Pittsburgh has taken two big steps forward. The federal government has approved a grant of nearly $8 million for the experimental maglev system, which would link a new 5,000-car garage to be built above Mellon Arena to the Steel Plaza Light Rail Transit station. Also, in a shift of position, Allegheny County Executive Jim Roddey agreed to let maglev backers build a test track to prove to doubters that the system actually works. (source: Knight-Ridder/Tribune)

Sustainable building guide
HUD's publication "Building Innovation for Affordable Housing" recognizes a large number of sustainable building projects in the U.S. The book is available free for downloading at http://www.huduser.org/publications/affhsg/bih.html, or call 800-245-2691 to get a copy for $5.


Events

Next Houston Gulf Coast Smart Growth Initiative meeting: May 24, 11:30 am, Houston-Galveston Area Council, 3555 Timmins, 2nd Floor. http://www.gulfcoastideas.org

Advancing Community Sustainability: June 1-3, Hotel Roanoke, Roanoke, Va. Virginia Tech's School of Public and International Affairs. For more info, urban@vt.edu or 540-231-6078.

CNU 200 - The Politics of Place: Jun 15-18, Portland, Oregon. Congress for the New Urbanism. http://www.cnu.org

The Practice of Environmentally Sensitive Development: June 22-23, San Francisco. An Urban Land Institute workshop on balancing environmental protection with economic return. 800-321-5011.

Rail~Volution 2000 - The Livable Metropolis: Prospects and Profits: Oct 4-8, Denver Colorado. http.railvolution.com

Partners for Smart Growth Conference: Dec 4-6, Atlanta, Westin Peachtree Plaza, Urban Land Institute. http://www.uli.org.

Note to readers: If you have news to share or have reports from events, please let us know at issues@gulfcoastideas.org


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