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LAND USE from page 1 .............................................. The League's Testimony pace of development, they are clearly not reluctant to go to the local ballot. The option of the state initiative The League was asked to respond to a committee is there as well. Therefore, it Js better to expand the staff report proposing various scenarios ranging from a somewhat disparaged '*status quo" option to the option public dialogue on growth rather than suppress it. of enhanced state control. In written comments and Understand how LAFCO's already regulate testimony, the League made the following points: growth. [:or cities, LA{:CO% operate as a growth The state has no comprehensive plan. individual regulation agency; their role is to limit sprawl and state agencies with individual plans are uncoordinated, promote orderly development. Cities cannot incorpo- rate, annex Jand, or add land to a sphere of influence inconsistent, and result in agencies working at cross- without complying with over 150 pages of statute, plus purposes as opposed to working toward a common goal. local agency guidelines. For almost 40 years, LAFCO's The state needs to establish a long-term plan and have have been empowered by the state to regulate city and the discipline to follow through on the plan. special district boundaries, and those laws just went The conference committee needs to recognize through a comprehensive revision based upon the two- that California's population growth dwarfs most year work of the Hertzberg Commission, culminating in the passage of AB ;)838 (Hertzberg, ;)000). other states. While land use policies in Oregon, Colorado, Maryland and Pennsylvania are often touted as models of land use practices superior to California, Local governments need resources to meet the population growth in California increases more in one demands of growth. If the intent is to "build up, not out", then local communities need financing mecha- year than most other states will in ten. No matter what policies the state enacts, our new residents will need tonisms to support that approach. Under the existing live somewhere, and will impose significant demands system of state-local finance, city governments are on infrastructure, available land, natural resources and forced to use mismatched revenue sources and strate- services, gies to provide services for their residents. For example, housing development is often a losing propo- Respect the concept of local control. We do sition for many city budgets, further compounded by not believe that local control of land use is a concept state law that gives nonprofit housing providers that California's residents desire to surrender to the blanket exemptions from paying local property tax. state. We would contend that our residents reject land Cities may pursue retail sales tax dollars to fund local use decisions that affect their neighborhoods and service needs, but the use of this revenue to balance communities that are being made at more remote levels local budgets alters planning priorities. Cities also lack of government, reliable funding to repair and upgrade local infrastruc- ture, causing city parks, streets, sidewalks, sewers, Engage the state's residents in the discussion and water pipes to deteriorate. Meanwhile, the of growth. Between 1986 and 2000, 671 local land use suburban fringes are booming with wide, landscaped measures were put on ballots in California, 61 on the boulevards, new parks and recreation facilities funded November 2000 ballot alone. In that election, 60 by high developer fees, and infrastructure financing percent of the California electorate voted for limited mechanisms such as the Mello-Roos autl~ority, which growth. The driving force behind these initiatives is favors the development of raw land. existing homeowners concerns over infrastructure, The next meeting of the Conference Committee traffic, noise, overcrowded schools, lack of parks and open space, and what they view as a declining quality has not yet been set. of life. When local residents are frustrated with the PAGE 6/PRIORITY FOCUS Visit the League's Official Web Site--www.cacities.org