LAND RECYCLING POLICY PAPER

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@igc.apc.org>]

LAND RECYCLING POLICY PAPER

The California Center for Land Recycling (CCLR) has written a Policy
Paper, "Land Recycling and the Creation of Sustainable Communities,"
that is well worth the read. The paper suggests a strategy for infill
development that addresses both environmental issues and the living
preferences of residents.

The report focuses on California, pointing out that urban California has
an average residential density of under two units per acre: "By using
our land in a way that increases the average density in existing urban
areas to an average of only 3 housing units per acre, all 18 million new
residents [expected in the state by 2025] could be housed without
developing a single additional acre of open space." But the authors'
observations and conclusions are relevant virtually anywhere in the
United States.

If it has any shortcoming, the report seems a little too supportive of
"risk-based cleanup" - allowing small amounts on contamination to remain
in place as an incentive for developers to recycle Brownfields
properties - but it insists that any project using such an approach win
community support.

The 28-page report's concluding paragraph summarizes a promising
strategy, not just for Brownfields revitalization, but for urban
planning in general:

"Continued long-term prosperity for California depends upon our ability
to sustain a high quality of life for all of our residents. Land use and
development decisions are the foundation upon which sustainable
communities can be built. Land recycling to preserve open space and
revitalize urban communities is a sustainable strategy for land use and
development that can ensure quality of life and prosperity for the
benefit of future generations. The times call for the adoption of a new
land use paradigm - founded on land recycling - which tackles common
problems through collaboration and economic incentives, which will
revitalize our cities, protect and restore our open space, and
invigorate our economy."

To request a hard copy of the "Land Recycling" policy paper, send an
E-mail to <romany.hall@CCLR.org> or phone 415/495-5660. The text of the
report is available on the Web at <www.CCLR.org>.

-- 

Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight (AKA SFSU
CAREER/PRO)
c/o PSC, 222B View St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/968-1126
lsiegel@igc.apc.org