News from the Smart Growth Front

This paper discusses two recent developments that provide some fresh evidence that "smart growth" is in retreat. Last November, by a majority of 67%, Oregon voters approved a ballot initiative with a simple but far reaching premise. At issue was Measure 37 that states that government must compensate property owners if government imposed land use restrictions reduce the value of their property. Because the State of Oregon has set aside no money to pay landowners, Measure 37 can lead to a rash of suburban style subdivisions outside Oregon's sacrosanct urban boundaries. The second development occurred when Virginia's Supreme Court invalidated Loudoun County's slow growth regulations that had blocked development in the western part of the nation's fastest growing county. A subsequent ruling by the Loudoun County Circuit Court has restored the previous three-acre zoning, clearing the way for suburban style housing subdivisions on the 300 square miles of western Loudoun county that had been formerly closed to dense development.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/1071393X
• Publication Date: 2005-6

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Pagination: 2p
• Serial:
  • Innovation Briefs
  • Volume: 16
  • Issue Number: 3
  • Publisher: Urban Mobility Corporation
  • ISSN: 1071-393X

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Consumer preferences; Demographics; Land use planning; Smart growth
• Geographic Terms: Loudoun County (Virginia); Oregon
• Subject Areas: Highways; Planning and Forecasting; Society; I21: Planning of Transport Infrastructure;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01001171
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jun 24 2005 9:26AM