ONTARIO - It was just the beginning, the start of discussions on a new state law that targets reducing greenhouse gas emissions from passenger vehicles for 2020 and 2035.
Local government and planning officials on Wednesday gathered at the Ontario Convention Center to talk about how future growth will impact the progress of implementing Senate Bill 375.
That bill, which went into effect on Jan. 1, requires cities and counties to work together to reduce vehicle greenhouse emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.
The regional workshop was hosted by the Southern California Association of Governments.
"One of the goals of SB 375 is getting a better consensus on the assumption and modeling of pollutants in the environment," said Barry Wallerstein, a panelist from the South Coast Air Quality Management District. "Strategies implemented will also provide local benefits in reducing local pollution."
The bill tasks the state Air Resources Board to oversee the process and ensure reductions are being met.
The ARB appointed members to a Regional Targets Advisory Committee to provide recommendations on the best practices and methods to use to meet the target emission standards.
Members of the committee discussed the part of the bill - a sustainable community strategy - that integrates planning elements of transportation, land-use and housing with the targets to reduce greenhouse emissions.
"We have to take ownership of the issue and having a sustainable community strategy is the best way to go about it," said panelist Linda Parks, a Ventura County supervisor.
And local governments will need assistance, said Michael Woo, dean of College of Environmental Design at Cal Poly Pomona.
Woo said the university is contemplating offering a series of extension courses for public employees that could help. The course would focus on issues such as transportation or "green" building.
But housing reports are already showing people are making different choices of where they want to live, said Riverside Mayor Ron Loveridge said.
The next generation of homeowners are open to smaller units and are choosing to live closer to work and entertainment venues, said Amanda Eaken, land use policy analyst for the Natural Resources Defense Council.
Also, many cities and counties are working to achieve smart growth.
"It's no longer new, it's now conventional wisdom, it's who we are," Loveridge said.
In Ontario, the city clearly bought into the regional plan when it recently worked on its General Plan, City Manager Greg Devereaux said.
"We've developed a plan for a complete community, one where people can live and work. One where people won't have to get in their vehicles," he said.
But getting cities and counties to buy into the plan could mean offering incentives, said Gary Gallegos, executive director for San Diego Association of Governments.
The key to meeting the goals will be that all the cities and counties are working together, Gallegos said.
