SMART GROWTH PLANNING GOALS:

Develop plans to improve the quality of life in existing suburban and urban areas

Implement SMART GROWTH plans in areas where infrastructure already exists to support growth. By reinvesting in existing communities we make it possible to protect our farmland, woodlands, wetlands and rural areas from overdevelopment.

Advocate regional & local land use planning and policies that clearly define:

• Areas that should be preserved for greenspace, parks, farmland, drinking water protection, flood control, wildlife habitat, and for other environmental reasons
• Incentives for greenspace acquisition and protection
• Incentives to locate housing, jobs and shopping closer together
• Development patterns that encourage walking, biking and transit use
• Full taxpayer cost for each proposed major development
• Equitable sharing of capital costs among developers, building users and taxpayers
• The most desirable areas for urban and suburban development
• Transportation and utility systems required to support that growth
• A process that fully involves local citizens from the earliest phases of planning