A sweeping plan to carry outCalifornia`s landmark law to fight global warming, made public Thursdayby the state`s air board, addresses a problem that planning groups sayhas been overlooked in most federal legislation: suburban sprawl.The draft plan, which seeks to cut greenhouse gas emissions in thestate by 30 percent by 2020, encourages local governments to createland-use and transportation plans that help them meet reduction targets.The idea is to discourage driving by concentrating development inurban areas near transit, jobs and retail or by laying out suburbs moreefficiently. For decades, Northern California`s growth hasn`t followed thisdense, urban model. Most development has occurred outside thenine-county Bay Area, according to a report by the San FranciscoPlanning and Urban Research Association.Between 1972 and 2004, only the outlying counties of Solano andSonoma saw the number of people per square mile more than double, whilethat trend played out in every county in the Sacramento and San Joaquinvalleys, the group said."We built the Bay Area in a car-oriented, suburban pattern so thatalmost everyone is forced to drive," said Gabriel Metcalf, executivedirector of SPUR. "Now we have to go back and retrofit it."The state would dangle several incentives for cities, counties anddevelopers to build projects that conform to these goals, according tothe plan released Thursday. The incentives include help with securingfunding, direct payments to developers or planners, or an easierenvironmental approval process.Environmental and planning groups, while cautiously supportive ofthe draft proposal, said they thought it should do more to force localgovernment and builders to develop in a climate-friendly fashion.The plan said improved land use and transportation planning couldcut emissions by an additional 2 percent by 2020 and 4 percent by 2030,it said. An earlier report had put that reduction closer to 6 percentby 2020, said Stuart Cohen, executive director of the Transportationand Land Use Coalition in Oakland. "We think this number got way too low," he said. "It`s going to let everyone off the hook." Seeking affordable housingOn the other hand, the California Building Industry Associationplans to lobby to ensure that the final version of the law balances theenvironmental aims against the goal of providing adequate affordablehousing in the state, spokesman John Frith said.The association and other trade groups representing residential andcommercial developers have long blamed the state`s high housing costson onerous government regulations."You can`t meet the state`s housing needs, 230,000 odd units a yearto keep up with population growth, strictly with urban infill," hesaid. "You have to have a mix."Land-use planning is a critical component of lowering greenhouse gasemissions because, without it, other reduction efforts would beundermined, said Kate White, executive director of the Urban LandInstitute`s San Francisco office."There`s a direct correlation between how close you live totransportation, how compact your neighborhood is, and how much youdrive," White said.A study released earlier this year by the group found that increaseddriving as a result of sprawling development in the next few decadeswill overwhelm any gains from increased vehicle fuel economy and use oflow-carbon fuels like biodiesel.The federal Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 setstandards in those two areas to reduce emissions from cars and lighttrucks by 23 percent below current levels, according to the analysis.But the U.S. Energy Department`s Energy Information Administrationprojects a 48 percent increase in driving between 2005 and 2030, morethan offsetting those improvements.Why changes are necessaryWithout widespread changes like those envisioned in the CaliforniaAir Resources Board`s plan, carbon dioxide emissions
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