CA developers fight weakening of greenhouse gas laws

Meanwhile, the state’s urban developers are looking to create TOD projects along a future 70-mile passenger rail line.

Despite spirited talk in California about a “transportation revolution,” developers there complain that funds for transit-oriented development (TOD) are in short supply. To improve the outlook, smart-growth-oriented developers are forming a new organization — the California Infill Builders Association — which will advocate infill development and seek more plentiful financing.

“Most lenders just don’t get it — the added value of transit,” says Michael Dieden, who chairs the infill builders group and also heads Creative Housing Associates, a Los Angeles firm that developed the well-received Mission

Meridian mixed-use project in South Pasadena.
The infill builders group will attempt to make California friendlier to compact development, including fighting the watering down of climate and land-use laws.
• The association intends to battle for implementation of California Senate Bill 375, which aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions and provide financial incentives for smart growth. The legislation, adopted in September 2008 (see Oct. 2008 New Urban News), mandates that major regional transportation planning agencies draw up plans by September 30, 2010, telling how each region will meet

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