Sierra Solutions Conference Topics Validated by Anti-Sprawl Bill

Published on Oct 4, 2008 - 8:15:38 AM

By: Sierra Business Council

MAMMOTH LAKES, California Oct. 4, 2008 - The Sierra Business Council and Sierra Nevada Conservancy hosted the Sierra Solutions Conference October 3-4. Over 200 members gathered from across California to share insights and learn from leaders in housing, sustainable development, carbon sequestration, sound energy policies and practices.

The Sierra Business Council's mission embraces community, environment and the economy, and this was reflected in the broad range of speakers and topics.

Community planners, like Katie McCamant and Chuck Durrett of CoHousing Partners/McCamant & Durrett Architects got an unexpected added relevance to their presentations when earlier in the week Governor Schwarzenegger signed Senate Bill 375. The anti-sprawl bill, by Democratic Sen. Darrell Steinberg of Sacramento, asks California communities to consider climate change development impacts in regional planning, with specific emphasis on car travel reduction.

"This bill supports the work that planners and architects have been doing in designing, sustainable communities on infill sites with many options for walking, biking or using public transit to stores and other daily needs. It validates the premise of higher density housing improving quality of life." comments Katie McCamant, who was a presenter at the conference. (McCamant & Durrett were awarded the 2020 Vision Award by SBC in 2008)

SBC President, Steve Frisch has long been an advocate of pedestrian and bike friendly community planning and has championed many initiatives in the Truckee and Tahoe region. "Traffic and quality of life can't get better until people simply get out of their cars more. This is a basic premise behind our Sierra Nevada Local First program-keep our community unique, make it easy to shop local, and reduce environmental impacts-SB 375 encourages us to do that by incentivizing mixed use, infill, transit-oriented and town centered development." states Frisch.

SB 375 requires the California Air Resources Board to set regional targets by September 2010 for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions.

About Sierra Business Council

The Sierra Business Council serves the entire Sierra Nevada region. As a nonprofit association of more than 750 businesses, agencies, and individual members, Sierra Business Council is committed to promoting a new perspective on regional wealth while emphasizing collaboration in planning and policy making.

Learn more by visiting: http://www.sbcouncil.org/

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