House threatens to defund Office of Smart Growth

DC.StreetsBlog reported last week that the US House of Representatives has been debating an appropriations bill that includes harsh cuts to many environmental programs, including elimination of the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Smart Growth.

Smart Growth America says doing away with funding for the Office of Smart Growth would be a serious mistake. "EPA’s smart growth programs assist communities on a diversity of projects, like creating a range of housing and transportation choices for residents and workers, growing local economies, protecting the environment and public health, and improving local infrastructure," Smart Growth America argues.

"For example," Smart Growth America continues, "the rural communities of Driggs and Victor in Idaho received a Smart Growth Implementation Assistance award to help identify steps to redevelop their downtown economies. Hundreds of other communities across the country have received similar assistance under the smart growth program, but these economically vital efforts would come to an end under the House legislation."

On the House floor, Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Portland, Oregon) said:

I am frankly mystified to see included in this bill an end to the program
that provides technical assistance and guidance to communities who are
looking for ways to increase economic development, plan for economic
growth, and make their communities safer, healthier, and more
economically secure. It is mystifying.

The EPA Office of Sustainable Communities was established to provide
a resource for communities that need technical assistance to plan for
economic growth, to deal with development, to account for a changing
population and the demographics, to expand their economic development
options, and make communities more attractive to business and local
citizens. ...

Some of the most important projects were situations where
the Office of Smart Growth has helped in brownfield redevelopment. These
are very complicated problems for local communities where they help turn
unusable, polluted land into land that's ready for development. This
helps create housing and business opportunities and provide cities with
an important foundation for planning future growth. This is precisely
the sort of thing that we should be doing to help communities leverage
resources and prepare for the future.

In Iowa City, Iowa, the Office of Smart Growth recently approved a
grant to redo their downtown riverfront area after the 2008 flood
devastated that community. With the help of EPA, they created a plan
with input and support from local elected officials, business leaders,
and local residents that's helped regenerate the downtown business area
while preserving green space and recreational areas for families who are
moving into the newly redeveloped residential buildings. ...

The services offered by EPA's Sustainable Communities Office are in high demand.
They've been able to assist only 9 percent of the communities that are
interested, due to existing budget constraints.

In addition to their technical assistance work, the Office of
Sustainable Communities is engaged in a partnership that we all should
be supporting and encouraging between HUD, the Department of
Transportation, and EPA. The Partnership for Sustainable Communities
enables these three Departments to work together to ensure that Federal
funds work in conjunction with each other, break down the silos that
frustrate us all to ensure that the Federal funds are spent as
efficiently as possible and eliminate duplicative processes.

"The underlying bill is a direct attack on the environment and as a result an assault on public health and our economy," charged Rep. Doris Matsui, a Sacramento Democrat. She pointed out that the Office of Smart Growth "has worked closely with the Sacramento Area Council of Governments to ensure sustainable, positive growth in our region. In a time when local governments are suffering massive cuts, the investment in the Office of Smart Growth offers our communities assistance that will help them grow and revitalize their local economies."

Whether funding will end up being eliminated is unclear. Among other factors, StreetsBlog noted: "... the House almost never passes appropriations bills in time for the new fiscal year, which begins October 1. Sometimes, the best they can do is pass constant extensions of the previous year’s budget."

New Urban Network asked EPA how large the Office of Smart Growth budget is and how many people work in that office. So far, the EPA press office has not responded with that information.