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Gov. Napolitano Addresses Smart Growth in State of the State Speech  PHOENIX––
Comprehensive Move Toward Smart Growth Presented by Gov. Napolitano in
State of the State Speech''As I've traveled Arizona, I have heard from thousands of you expressing the same message -- the way we grow has to change,'' said Democratic Governor Janet Napolitano in her State of the State speech, imparting a sense of urgency to the GOP-led legislature with six executive orders signed hours before, one of which expands the scope of her Growth Cabinet, formed of key agency directors last year, and directs it ''to develop -- within 120 days -- an implementation plan for a smart growth and development process.'' Coordinated Growth Planning With Arizona's population of some 3.7 million in 1990 already up by 65 percent and likely to reach almost 6 million by 2030, the governor told lawmakers, ''We must be vigilant in our work to ensure that rapid growth is smart growth,'' asking them to think of infrastructure ''in a larger sense,'' as including roads, water supply, land preservation, housing, health care and ''careful, coordinated growth planning.'' Her Growth Cabinet's job is now ''to ensure that all agencies of state government are working together on critical growth issues -- for example, creating a water development fund for rural Arizona, and ensuring that infrastructure is built in a manner that contemplates the effects of development on our water quality, air quality and wildlife.'' What's more, she said, the cabinet ''will work with cities, towns, counties and tribal communities so that our efforts build on each other's,'' with future discretionary funds ''available only to local governments that agree to participate in this process,'' a condition she also set for the extra $400 million she proposed for highway construction. Troubled by ''the 'time tax' we pay, every time we sit, stuck in traffic that should be moving,'' the governor expects to secure the additional $400 million by extending the terms for state transportation bonds from 20 to 30 years. Mass-Transit Innovations At the same time, she stressed the need to ''explore transportation innovations,'' give localities tools ''to incorporate more water planning into their growth decisions'' and ''to restrict wildcat subdivisions,'' and aggressively protect air quality. Related executive orders jump-start these actions. She gave the Arizona Department of Transportation 90 days to submit ''a list of options for mass transit -- including commuter rail and light rail -- so that this can be part of our transportation planning as we grow.'' She told the Department of Environmental Quality and the Department of Commerce to provide communities with ''long-term, 30-year financing through a partnership between the Water Infrastructure Finance Authority and the Greater Arizona Development Authority,'' which will save millions in interest, ensure safe drinking water, and protect water resources. She also ordered the state ''to take further, concrete steps to improve air quality,'' including a requirement for all projects on state property to reduce their particulate and ozone-forming emissions, and a provision for awarding incentives in new contracts involving heavy equipment ''to those contractors that use newer clean fuel technologies.'' In addition, ''we must protect our access to open space, particularly in our urban communities,'' and work on state trust land reform, Governor Napolitano continued, assuring communities with trust lands reclassified under the Arizona Preserve Initiative that the state ''will not move those lands to market for other than conservation purposes without local consent.'' Creative Housing Solutions Simultaneously, ''we need to offer housing that is within reach, both geographically and financially,'' she pointed out, promising more financial aid for first-time rural homebuyers and doubled investment in homebuyer education, allocating another $1 million to seek ''creative housing solutions at the center of our communities, rather than further sprawl at the edges,'' and earmarking another $2.5 million for tribal housing. Having focused the first part of her speech on education, with a proposal to set a minimum starting teacher salary at $33,000 statewide and an executive order for the director of the School Facilities Board to work with school districts on schools for 21st century, Governor Napolitano ended it by addressing the needs of seniors. With thousands of them already under long-term care due to age or disability, and the number of those over 85 expected to double within 15 years, she announced an executive order to ''crack down on long-term care abuse and neglect,'' and to reward the best facilities, while posting quality ratings on her web site by this July. ''Many more people are joining us; let's welcome them, and be careful and smart about how we make way for them,'' the governor concluded. ''We are stewards. This place of exceptional beauty is not ours to own, it is only ours to care for, for the time we are here. Let's do it well, together.'' Click here to view the original article |
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