Sierra In Peril- SF 145

Sure absolutely. Just about ready. Oh OK I'll explain if you're as simply as you can the concept of conservation easement in 30 watch or less. OK a piece of ground like this one we're we're standing on has the highest and best use value. Let's call that the developed value. If someone were to come in and buy it for building houses on. This ground also has an agricultural value. That value being established by what these vines can produce in terms of the income to support it in an economic fashion. The difference between those. Is what we call the value. I'm a conservationist. So basically if a farmer sells off the development rights he gets the value that is the difference between that highest and best use and the agricultural value. And that. Can either donated sell it to a combination of the two depending on their tax situation.

And. And look at the best economic way to do that. So that the outcomes are equivalent to selling it to a developer. But the bottom line is that they get to keep it as agricultural land. Yes. So they still have that asset. To pass it on to their children if their children do not want to to continue the farming operation. It leaves it out of value because the easement goes with the ground it doesn't go with the owner. And. A new farmer coming in it would you would be able to purchase that ground it's agricultural value rather than its. Inflated value based on development. In a nutshell what are some of the key. Options we should be looking at as a valley to try to preserve as much farmland as possible in the face of these growing population pressures. I think that's. Looking at how we can come out from from several different because it's a good thing. Complicated puzzle to put together. I think I'm looking at.

Planning on it like a county wide plan that takes into. Consideration and has well established urban AG policies. I think looking at how we establish our or determine our transportation policies because sometimes that directs where growth is going to go. I think also looking at making official use of our urban lands. That being higher density housing in fill in areas that are not currently developed but within the urban area. I think that revitalizing some of the areas that are within urban areas that could be revitalized and used for higher density. I think that it's a combination of things. I don't think it's we are going to do some harm. There's no doubt about it. But I think if you look at some of the activities for example in Fresno there are the growth alternatives Alliance which brought together.

Farming community the business community and the building community and they all sat down at the table and talked about ways that they could coexist and move forward in the future and those are the types of things that will help us create the dialogue that then moves towards the policy and the other thing is. Stabilizing. Local governments. The school. Passing. And how they are incentives because cities right now. Are not particularly against their incentives are not set up to preserve farmland. It's to create tax revenue and jobs. And neither one of those working in concert. Is are. Gone. For good. Excellent. Down I go. All right let's get your name again Douglas if we could please. My name is Douglas Jackson the

las J A C K S O N. And I am a program's assistant at the Great Valley Center. Right. Just a little bit about this design competition that the great valor center helped sponsor. How can the next 10 million was really created to try and elevate the dialogue in local communities and help them envision what the future could like for the Central Valley. Additionally it helps promote the notion of a region in the Central Valley. But look at important issues that take place on a local level. Tell me a little bit about the kind of response you've got I guess it was global in scope. Yeah we had just been knocked over by the earth by the response. We had over 240 people first look into the program when it was announced on the web in the web of course it's changed the way we do things. It's become a really international competition. We had entries from 17 different countries and from 26 U.S. cities in the District of Columbia as a matter of fact we just had two young ladies here who in a competition. They're from Germany and finishing up their masters project and it was on the Central Valley and he first learned

about the competition when they were in Madrid studying. So it really is an international competition. And what were some of the parameters of the competition the rules the goals and whether any financial reforms. There were we had five categories infill development. Redevelopment. Housing design. Small rural agricultural communities and. I can get that OK. I can give up for it and I have the fifth one in my mind somewhere. But we had five categories and they had the prize money was substantial. Each of the five category main winners receive $10000. So that of course inspired a lot of the entries going. We asked them to look at the Central Valley in a regional context look at the planning issues it was very much an interdisciplinary context and contest it wasn't just about housing design it was about all the issues that come into play and as we as we develop our cities and I guess one of the bottom line goals is to develop ideas that would allow a better more efficient use of land and probably a

denser environment exactly especially around the idea of redevelopment and infill development. Yeah. Let's talk a little bit about some of the top designs the ones that really seem to grasp innovative visions. Maybe you could start with a big glass tower big loss tower that's the the fractal city and of course graphically and design wise it's really interesting that captures your imagination of what the fittings could look like. And it even reaches back to some other ideas of the cruciate of the tower in the park where we all live in and tall dense buildings or structures and we reserve the land around us for green spaces as an amenity if you will look out and think it's not very practical but it will inspire your imagination. So what they could test it was trying to achieve here I guess is a way of showing how people could live in a dense housing environment surrounded by open space and still be comfortable and happy. Exactly and I think challenge our notion of housing. Yeah. What did the Great Valley Center like about this particular

design. I think exactly at that it definitely challenges the way we think of housing it redefines everything this does not look like a city to you. Or maybe if you watch enough science fiction it does. But it definitely isn't interesting and will cause a conversation. Yes let's talk about another one perhaps maybe 2040 strategic plan. Now this is a really interesting one I think it did exactly what we wanted to do with the competition. It looked at the regional issues and planning our cities but it also took a specific city and this one focused on the city of Modesto. And one of the really interesting things about it is it's looking at a new area of development around Modesto but it builds on the existing plan from a dust Oh and it uses the irrigation canals as a way of organizing the city. And does it achieve a greater density less use of farmland. Yes exactly. When I have you say that. Oh it is and it is the greater density and it reserves far might actually have a very distinct boundary between the agricultural land

and the area that's allowed to be developed. And yet it still allows a significant amount of growth. Yes. OK let's talk about that then. Interesting looking building there the red background. That's the Q house and it was designed by an art architect in San Francisco. And it's it was proposed our small rural agricultural communities category and it is used to provide emergency housing need and rest very lightly on the land. So we don't have to fully develop the land or convert it from its agricultural use but it can provide emergency usage. And it also it's very interesting that it's modular and it can be put together in different parts so the same pieces that you could buy maybe any kit or or piece by piece could be used to create a community center or a health facility or a movie theater or a single family house or red or dormitory style housing. So finally the Capitol Park neighborhood design that was in our words of excellence category which is a really exciting category because it's projects that are actually being followed through with

it shows that both physically and economically these projects are feasible and it's an infield development in Sacramento in the Capital Park neighborhood that takes both residential retail uses puts them together and allows almost a car free environment where you can live near where we where you work live a lot denser and because you travel so far you don't have to rely on the automobile which is good environmentally as well. That's a great answer me. I'll have you rephrase it just a little bit so it doesn't reference my question you know if you're going by saying this Capital Park neighborhood design plan is Award of Excellence and it really talks about. OK. This capital part of neighborhood design plan is a ward of excellence winner and that was a category that we created for projects that are actually already being followed through it. And this is a neighborhood in Sacramento and verse race the architect. Took it and used infill development to fill in some of the gaps. Wow. Communicating with the in the surrounding environment so it really fits in and it creates shops and

houses and places to work. And actually you can live there and be near where you work and it can be more of a car free area which is good environmentally. If you think you and the rest of the center were encouraged by the level of interest the creativity of the ideas in the entries and maybe. Some of the practical future plans. We've gone through the boards and gone through the boards and every time you go through and you pick up something new. Now we're really excited to take those new ideas and take them to into the communities. We're going to take a tour all the way through the Central Valley starting in North and going up to the south and going through all 18 counties and hopefully have some public discussion around this. The more we get. And it's going. To. That was the only time tell me about what plans Les had for this competition and these designs.

We're really excited about the designs that were entered and we've spent hours and hours poring through them and every time we do we we pull out new things. Now were really excited to take these ideas and present them to local communities. We're take a tour of the whole central valley all 18 counties and we want to present him to the public and hopefully have some workshops around that and let people look at the ideas even if they don't like them at least elevate the discussion some people will say well what could the future look like for a town or what can we do with this piece of property. Those really those independent local decisions are really what Add together and have a regional effect and then hopefully as a county of the side what they what they want to do or what's interesting interesting to them were actually to bring some of these designers into the communities and homes hold their designs or at their workshops and let them all pour of the ideas and have them really how to plan become there's. Actually a great really exciting really healthy articular the group sense of urgency. That space faces the valley where the decisions that are being made now are

the ones that back as far into the future. Having seen runaway development how it's changed. Quality wise it's just a that's a microcosm of what happened in the present as some great things going on now that everything there's there's there are bad but perhaps if we see a place that hasn't. Thought so much about it every day every small decision and realized what impact it could have. So there's a cumulative effect. Yeah definitely. Every now. So. Now. That's. And so many communities. That's really if there wasn't of a way of doing this is a knock at my dozen existing communities today. I think with the brown action different. Different. Different policies that we've had to make sure we have a more participant of. Decision making process. And that will never be

perfect. The sponsors of this symbols in situ Yeah they're right in the lobby and I can take you over to they have a table and I know that I chose that. I mean that woman can show because I have to find a solution for her. I know Julie like Johnson from the government commission. She's a great person and talking about the pollution from SO I CAN YOU FEEL ME GO start kind of what I can. But I'll be back in just a minute. Walk over there. Or talk to me. Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah. There's just. You know and I know you know you know yeah yeah she did and you know what. I have a film crew here that I love to

talk to somebody about some and from the environmental side right. Right. Really pretty cool.

That's right Carol. Yes the farm workers men and women of our color were condemned to a life that. I think they probably already shot. The. Hell of the winds on the left. Right David just talk to me about the camera. This gets a new study first last name in a time. Dave Crowe. That's David L.. Last name C R O W. And I mean. Executive director air pollution control officer of San Joaquin Valley district. About the district. Obviously the campuses a wide area. What's what its function. OK. District was created in law in 1992. It serves the eight counties basically from Los Angeles County to Sacramento County line.

Primary responsibility is to regulate various industries in this. This is the. House. Air pollution emissions. Reactor under the authority of the federal federal Clean Air Act and the California Clean Air Act. In addition to our mandated regulatory roles the district governing board which is made up of 11 elected officials serving throughout the Valley has also been very proactive and creating voluntary programs and that using dollar incentive programs to induce changes in both automobile and heavy vehicle technology and a very expensive grant program has put out over 20 million dollars in the last several years to provide financial incentives for more walkable communities bike paths. Video teleconferences systems and just a wide variety of programs that the public brings for that after engineering analysis they provide a noticeable you know quality benefit.

Something that. We do serious regulatory responsibilities and then a good deal of voluntary programs to benefit our quality in the public and then a good deal of. Positive monetary incentives to induce those changes. Let's get right to one of the issues David. The Federal Clean Air Act. Mandatory standards that. Obviously apply to the valley. And. Sort of looms over the heads of everyone living here. Unless we clean up our act literally we could be looking at some pretty strong sanctions. Well the reality in the San Joaquin Valley is many of the reasons that attract people to the valley the mountains the climate is also part of the inequality problem we are a basin in a very larger basin and unfortunately our air quality is soon to be classified as severe not attainment for both those on and find particulate matter.

And under that federal classification in the Clean Air Act it triggers a very rigorous regulatory environment. And that's why our board. He has been stepping up not only to its regulatory responsibilities but providing literally millions of dollars to his positive financial incentives. And in fact we we are facing very near timeframes for making a year breathable and meeting the Federal ambient air standards. We just missed one thousand ninety nine as I maintain that date. And that's been assessed to take the change of our status from serious to severe. That gives us until 2005 which is. In this business. Tomorrow. In order to effect programs that will reduce the emissions. We have a lot of partners in this and most particularly the state of California as a relates to automobile tailpipe emissions and formulations on fuel consumer products more in Horten we were finding now that stationary sources emissions have come down dramatically

over the last 30 years but at the same time with a burgeoning population in the San Joaquin Valley in rapid growth we're seeing that the mobile side of the pollution problem is we're always vehicles both heavy duty light duty vehicles are are something that we face is a rather unique challenge when you compare us to the rest state that's a pretty well-built town. So as we digest millions more in population. It's really going to be imperative that other partners in the air quality solution to killing local governments cities counties transportation planning agencies transportation providers businesses really step up and and and look at how do we design our communities how do we accommodate a double population in the next 20 30 years. And we really have a unique opportunity to as we build the valley again to make our communities more livable more walkable providing other modes of transportation for people and applying cleaner technologies across the board.

So it's pretty exciting on the one hand that we do indeed have an opportunity to avoid the sanctions as you referred to. But it is going to take a fairly rapid educational process and a real strong political leadership and support for local elected officials as they start to do things that are different from. What has taken place many times in the past. Year. What are some of the worst case scenario that you can see both in terms of government sanctions and for that we don't use them. Well I think clearly the air we breathe is important and right now we are unfortunately not able to provide air that is clean enough for all people in the valley most sensitive people are obviously the young and the elderly and those who are involved in athletics. And unfortunately too many times during the course of the year our ozone levels are acceptably high during the winter with our inversions our particulate levels are too high. So I think the first consequence is that on human health.

The second consequence is just the overall quality of life. We in the valley struggle with whether chronic high unemployment. Or increasingly finding that business community has a real interest in improving air quality because. It is it is a cost to them. It's also difficult to attract and retain new businesses that are essential to the economy in the valley when we have an Audi problem. So I think the challenge before us is to do a lot of things that will reduce our reliance on the on vehicle travel. Give us focus on the options. That contributes to a better overall quality of life for livable communities and in turn that there's a collateral benefit of air quality. So it is a mosaic. There are a lot of facets to the problem it's not just air quality it's congestion. It's the expense that individuals bear in terms of you know the only mode now moving people around.

And it is improving our public transportation systems. Designing our communities in such a fashion that we don't have to travel great distances. And and that's you know the challenge. Which is very exciting but it is nonetheless a challenge because in many. Many contexts the parts of the way we built the valley in the past. But there are a lot of very bright people there's a lot of information available. And I'm really excited that there's a lot of energy throughout the valley among the public and their elected leaders to make these changes and we're starting to see downtowns for example come back up and down the valley. That's positive for a lot of respects not to mention the economy but it's also. Beneficial to people during their lunch hour want to leave their employment. And don't buy a greeting card or go you know do another errand. They can walk. So it's that type of thing that's happening. Very positive. There is progress being made. We are in a race. And it's important that we know which direction to run and that we run at a good clip in order to accomplish a lot

of things that are going to benefit the valley and their wallet. You mentioned. The potential impacts and the existing impacts on life. I mean. Tell me a little bit about the government disincentives that. Valley. Girls Inc. Well hopefully we can avoid it but people ought to be aware that the Federal Clean Air Act is written in such a way that if we fail to make our attainment dates as a couple of areas around the country are. Flirting with right now if we fail to make our attainment dates for both those on particular operation of federal law a number of things happen the first set of sanctions. Fall on the business community that really seriously impedes their ability to expand existing businesses or to locate new businesses in the San Joaquin Valley. That's extremely important. The second thing that happens is that by virtue of the federal law our transportation dollars are her tail

and we have some legitimate transportation needs. In the San Joaquin Valley. But basically the federal government says that for whatever combination of reasons the air is on acceptable and why operational law basically imposes an ad hoc moratorium. Cause folks step back and reassess. What they've done and what they intend to do in the future but it is a very serious set of economic sanctions that fall on an area so I think at all costs it's imperative that people really understand those things and move rapidly to address the issues that affect the kinds of changes are going to be helpful. How much of our pollution problem is due to our neighbors to the north and south. That's an important part of the issue. But one not to be overstated. We've applied a great deal of science over the last six or seven years and we much better understand the issue of transport into the San Joaquin Valley from both the Bay Area and Sacramento area. In the northern part of our valley it is.

A rather significant. Cause of our pollution here I say significant It means that were it not for that transport we would not exceed the federal standards in the northern portion of our valley. And that is reduced in scope as we travel down from through Fresno through Bakersfield. It is an issue it's an issue that the district and business interest is in the valley of continued to pursue state legislation with the federal government and it is one that I'm rather optimistic we will in the near term future effects and serious solutions to not to be lost and that is that we in the San Joaquin Valley produce enough pollution on our own to create a problem but transport is an issue. Likewise we transport routes out of our valley to both the coastal into the desert areas to the south. Besides going to. You now. OK. Let's break it. Down.