According to today's Washington Post, smart growth is gaining momentum in Virginia ("Local Control Of Va. Growth Gains Steam"). According to the Post:
Republican leaders in the Virginia House of Delegates on Friday joined Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) and other lawmakers who have proposed giving local governments more flexibility in controlling development.The measures backed by the Republicans are not as aggressive as those offered by Kaine and some other lawmakers. But the GOP effort suggests that support for some expansion of local powers is now widespread in state government.
As House Speaker William J. Howell (R) said, "Too many people have assumed that the only answer to crowded highways . . . is the construction of new roads with no real way to include local governments in the decisions."
I couldn't agree more. Building more roads, in the absence of a comprensive "smart" plan for growth, is not only an utter waste of money, it is a ticket to even more congestion and sprawl down the road. In other words, the opposite of "smart growth" is, indeed,"stupid growth."
Shit, even "Sideshow Bob" Marshall (R-Mars) is getting on board the "smart growth" train (or is it a bike trail?). According to Marshall, "We've reached the tipping point" in this debate. Marshall has even introduced legislation that would "explicitly grant local governments the power to reject requests for higher-density projects that would overwhelm their roads."
Amazing, huh? And, just in case anyone forgets, the person we all have to thank for this at-long-last move towards sanity is one Timothy M. Kaine, recently elected Governor of Virginia in a landslide victory over Jerry Dumbya Kilgore. Yeah, last time I checked, what Tim Kaine's doing on this issue is known as "leadership." Now, the question is how vociferous the opposition will be from greedy, rapacious developers and their allies who benefit from uncontrolled sprawl and environmental devastation. My guess is that they've finally met their match. Thank you Tim Kaine!