Smart Growth Help Awarded To Five Communities
Five communities in Maryland, New Mexico, Wyoming, Rhode Island and Idaho have been chosen to receive assistance from a team of private sector national experts in planning for future growth. The locations include cities, inner suburbs and small towns.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will direct ICF Consulting to organize multi-disciplinary teams to provide the communities with tools and resources to find innovative ways of sustaining environmentally sensitive growth and economic progress.
The five communities were selected from 56 communities from 28 states that applied for the EPA’s first Smart Growth Implementation Assistance Request for Applications this spring. The agency says it is receiving a growing number of requests for technical assistance in planning for future growth. The communities chosen for Smart Growth assistance are: –College Park, Maryland: The City of College Park is looking to revitalize Route 1 which is both the city’s main street and a state highwayinto a vibrant, mixed-use area with new pedestrian-oriented, infill development. With EPA’s assistance, the city will conduct a workshop to bring together citizens, businesses, developers, civic groups, and others to create a vision for environmentally-friendly development in the corridor and a consensus plan. –Taos, New Mexico: This town of 4,700 people is seeking assistance to obtain community input on design and development issues along the 3.3-mile Paseo del Pueblo Sur (State Highway 68) corridor. With the community input and the team’s assistance, Taos will create plans, policies, and codes to foster development in the corridor that reflects the unique character of Taos, stimulates economic development, and improves environmental quality. –Cheyenne, Wyoming: The citizens of Cheyenne have been working with local government officials to create a plan for growth that will protect environmental resources, encourage more development in existing neighborhoods, and create new development that is walkable and provides housing choices and options. The city is seeking the team’s assistance to analyze existing policies, codes, and administrative processes to determine if they are meeting the community’s goals as stated in the plan. –Aquidneck Island, Rhode Island: The island’s planning commission and municipalities, along with the Navy, recently completed a redevelopment master plan that aims to protect environmental quality by preserving natural ecosystems and promoting growth in established centers. The Aquidneck Island Planning Commission is seeking assistance to confirm that the plan’s goals are aligned with municipal codes and ordinances so that the communities can carry out their vision for the island. –McCall, Idaho: A town of just over 2,000 people, McCall and its residents have crafted a comprehensive plan designed to protect environmental resources and encourage redevelopment in the city limits. In response to a new “East-West Loop Road” opening this summer, the town is looking for assistance to gather public input on proposals to encourage growth into three village centers along the roadway, as well as identify code and design changes to achieve the desired development. Besides offering future rounds of assistance under this program, EPA will continue to offer informal help to community leaders when requested, speak at community events when possible and appropriate, make its research and publications widely available, and offer grants both to communities for technical assistance and to organizations for research and publications that will help improve development practices.
Provided by the Environmental News Service.