Suggested Citation:
Sciara, Gian-Claudia (2014) Evaluating Progress toward SB375 Implementation: A Longâ€term View. Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis, Research Report UCD-ITS-RR-14-06

Summary of Key Points

1. Consideration of progress toward SB 375’s goals must take into account the governance paradox that underpins SB375. There is a notable disconnect between the law’s unequivocal affirmation of local land use authority and the importance it places on regional visions for future land use and transportation. This is a central challenge facing implementation of the law.

2. Over the long term, local governments and the land use and development policies they pursue will decisively influence progress on SB375. General Plans produced by California cities are thus a key component of SB375’s success. They articulate city by city how the state will grow. My review of a 31â€city sample of General Plans suggests that many cities could improve their plans in key dimensions to provide for greater alignment with SB 375 principles.

3. Analysis of preâ€SB 375 efforts by California regions to encourage smart growth offer lessons for SB 375 implementation in the future. My study of these earlier Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) programs suggest there is clear appetite among local governments for planning and capital investment to refocus growth on established centers and to make cycling, walking, and public transit more attractive means of travel. Investment in planning can help communities encourage growth that shapes the built environment in support of SB 375. However, due to restrictions built into the programs’ underlying funding sources, existing MPOâ€led smart growth programs have largely favored capital versus planning investment.

4. In 2014, SB 375 stands halfway between its passage and its 2020 milestone. It is important to assess the success of regional and local SB 375 performance. However, it is equally important to acknowledge that shifting physical development and changing travel behavior to reduce GHGs is a long term policy initiative. Efforts to propel California toward smart growth will bear fruit most visibly in the longâ€term. Most SB 375â€related efforts to date have necessarily addressed institutional set up, such as setting and approving regional targets and developing Sustainable Communities Strategies (SCSs), milestones which some regions have yet to reach. Questions about progress toward SB 375’s goals for development, travel patterns, and GHG reduction are the right ones to ask, but the ability to answer them right now is limited.

5. In the near term, important steps can be taken to enable more rigorous SB 375 performance measurement going forward. First, planningâ€specific performance metrics should be developed to assess whether trends in local government land use planning and policy track SB 375 objectives. Second, for discrete local projects and policy initiatives, there is a need to institutionalize evaluation beyond accountingâ€focused audits and anecdotal evidence of project benefits. Thoughtful performance measures of in SB375 terms could ascertain whether local projects and policies (a) have contributed or are likely to contribute to travel behavior changes and reduced automobile use; and (b) may produce coâ€benefits such as improved community health or economic growth.

Testimony before the Transportation and Housing Committee, California  State Senate, Hearing on the Sustainable Communities and Climate  Protection Act of 2008 (SB 375): From Vision to Implementation, May 13,  2014