2007 Growth Management Policies

Local Growth Management Strategies to Protect and Enhance Regional Air Quality

Unattractive sprawl or compact, well-designed communities?  Parking lots or play grounds?  Congested streets or thoroughfares shared by pedestrians, bicyclists and automobiles?

The best answers to these questions = healthy people, healthy places, healthy planet.

The choices local governments make when building public facilities and transportation systems, permitting development, and adopting and implementing growth management plans affect where people live, the types of homes they live in, how far they travel, whether they drive alone or ride with others.

All these choices impact public health, community air quality and global climate. 

As we learn more about the connections between land use, transportation and air quality, it is essential that air agencies and local governments share information and work together to influence these choices. 

The following clean air policies for local growth management planning, adopted by the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency’s Board of Directors on February 22, 2007, were developed to provide guidance for community planners, elected officials and other decision makers. 

The policies focus on six key action areas:  Air and climate friendly development, cleaner travel, reducing exposure to air pollution, cleaner heating, environmental justice, and using environmental laws for better public health and air quality.

Agency staff would be happy to provide further information or assistance.  Please contact Paul Carr.