Great Lake Bulletin Spring 1998

Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, (R-New Jersey), has recognized the social, economic, and environmental benefits of better planning to manage growth. She said in her inaugural address that she would focus her second term on rebuilding urban neighborhoods, protecting farmland and open space, and stopping sprawl.

In their State of the State and inaugural addresses earlier this year, fifteen governors appealed to theirconstituents with an increasingly popular theme: preserving open space, improving quality of life, andstrengthening state land use laws to stop sprawl. Most of the governors added their conviction that doing sowould help solve a host of stubborn environmental, social, and economic problems.
This issue transcends party lines. There were eight Republicans -- from Arizona, California, Connecticut,Idaho, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina, and Utah -- and seven Democrats, from Colorado, Delaware,Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Oregon, and Vermont.
Even Florida conservative Republican Jeb Bush, who attacked environmental laws in his losing 1994 gubernatorial bid, is running again on a platform that includes strengthening environmental policy andimproving his state's growth management law to fight sprawl.
New Jersey Republican Christine Todd Whitman is a leader among the governors with the scope of hervision. She said in her inaugural address that she would focus her second term on rebuilding urbanneighborhoods, protecting farmland and open space, and stopping sprawl.

These politicians have detected a building restlessness among voters, and have recognized that the solutionlies in establishing more effective growth management for the cities, suburbs, and countryside. The dismayingmarch of the same old ugly buildings, cookie cutter subdivisions, giant malls, and congested roads is nolonger universally viewed as an inevitable necessity of economic growth.
Redirecting the engines of economic development to point toward cities and towns instead of away fromthem can only come through a combination of enlightened leadership and changes in state law.
Here are quotations from some of the governors' recent addresses:

Jane Dee Hull (R-Arizona)
"We worry that poorly managed growth may damage both our environment and our quality of life. An anti-growth backlash could hamstring efforts at responsible growth, which is needed to keep our state strong.Protecting open space must be a part of any new growth strategy."

Roy Romer (D-Colorado)
"A critical component to our quality of life is protecting Colorado's extraordinary natural environment,especially in the face of growth pressures.
"Growth, if not carefully managed, can soon ruin or greatly diminish what is special and unique about aplace. The most gratifying result of the Smart Growth movement has been the dramatic increase in local andregional cooperation ... around critical growth and quality of life issues such as transportation, or open space, oraffordable housing.
"Our most pressing growth issue is transportation. It's harder to get to work, and the time spent stuck intraffic is time not spent with our families.

Christine Todd Whitman(R-New Jersey)
"Every part of New Jersey suffers when we plan haphazardly. Sprawl eats up our open space. It createstraffic jams that boggle the mind and pollute the air. Sprawl can make one feel downright claustrophobic abouour future."
"Spending so much time in a car seeing New Jersey roll by has given me a sense of urgency about ourstate's future. I have a vision for that future -- a vision for rebuilding our cities, preserving our open space, andenriching our sense of personal responsibility. I want to make our state more affordable, our schools stronger,our communities safer. Ultimately, my mission is to make New Jersey more livable.
"So I will concentrate my second term on improving the quality of life for all New Jerseyans. I want to helpforge a state with thriving communities. With greater opportunities to enjoy New Jersey. With more open spacepreserved for all generations for all time."

John G. Rowland (R-Connecticut)
"We will improve the quality of life for all Connecticut residents by preserving more than half a millionacres of open land for future generations. We have convinced Connecticut business and industry that a cleanenvironment is in their best interest. And because we've made that cultural change, we have been able toconcentrate our efforts on preserving open space, cleaning up Long Island Sound, and opening new state parks."

Tom Carper (D-Delaware)
"I've proposed a new ... infrastructure investment package that is focused on [these] objectives: (1) complementstate and county land use goals by directing investment in existing communities and growth areas; (2) protectcritical farmland and open space from sprawling development... .
"I propose to create a Growth Management Fund to continue our investments in farmland preservation, openspace, water and wastewater systems, and affordable housing."

Benjamin J. Cayetano (D-Hawaii)
"Let me reaffirm here and now that we will not pursue economic growth which destroys the environment thathas made Hawaii the most beautiful place in the world."

Michael O. Leavitt (R-Utah)
"While we're building next generation highways, we also need to build future neighborhoods and next genera-tion housing. If we're smart and forward-looking, we can find the right mix of density and design."

Howard Dean (D-Vermont)
"If we allow sprawl to continue in this state we will lose our community and become an homogenized andundifferentiated part of our larger region. Think of everything we do in terms of a short-term vision, in terms ofa two-year vision, and in terms of a 100-year vision."