| Land Use and Growth Management |
| Uniting Land Use and Transportation in Oregon:
The Transportation Growth Management Program |
| By Greg Chew, PBQD Portland, Oregon 1-503-228-7352, chewg@pbworld.com |
| Oregon's Transportation
Growth Management program has proven to be an effective tool for integrating
land use and transportation planning. |
|
In the U.S., Oregon has been a leader in many aspects of land use
planning: defining statewide land use goals, determining urban growth
boundaries and establishing mandatory comprehensive planning. As its
population increased, however, Oregon's relatively innovative and
progressive land use laws were not enough to maintain the state's
livability. Declining mobility and rising transportation costs have
increased the challenge for more and better land use and transportation
planning. To meet this challenge, the State of Oregon established
the Transportation Growth Management (TGM) program during 1993-1994.
Overview of the TGM Program
The TGM program has proven to be an effective tool for integrating
land use and transportation planning. It ensures that projects with
land use and transportation components are united in the same effort,
promoting what the TGM program refers to as "smart development."
This approach differs from the approach taken historically, whereby
land use planning and transportation planning have been undertaken
separately, without detailed collaboration.
The state legislature established that the TGM program be managed
by the arms of state government that oversee these two disciplines
of land use planning and transportation planning: the Department of
Land Use and Conservation and the Oregon Department of Transportation.
The TGM program encourages the collaborative effort by an obvious
and effective incentive: funding. It is supported by state general
funds and federal funds that are available to every state to improve
its transportation system, now under the Federal Transportation Equity
Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) and previously under the Intermodal
Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA).
"To
enhance Oregon's livability, foster integrated land use and transportation
planning and encourage development that results in compact, pedestrian-,
bicycle-, and transit-friendly communities."
For 1999-2001, the TGM program has $6.5 million budgeted for providing
assistance to local governments.
Allotment of Funds to Local Governments
Generally, TGM funds are allotted to local governments by either grants,
the Smart Development Code Assistance Program, Quick Response Team
or the Outreach Program.
Grants. The majority of TGM
funds are allocated through the grant program because they allow local
governments to customize the grant to address the communities' specific
needs. The funds are available equally to every region of the state
and to jurisdictions of all sizes. Every two years, local governments
submit grants for TGM funds. Awards are based on how effectively the
grant funds will meet the program's mission.
Grants are awarded to local governments for three types of uses:
- Local transportation system plans and associated
implementation measures
- Land use plan changes that help meet transportation
needs
- Urban growth management strategies.
Every biennium between 50 to 100 projects are awarded to local governments.
In return, the local governments must dedicate staff resources to
the project and oftentimes must have governing bodies take formal
action on the projects' outcomes.
Quick-Response Team.
These teams are comprised of a group of consultants (mostly planners
and urban designers) who provide transportation-efficient design alternatives
to development proposals. Oftentimes, local governments do not have
the in-house design staff to develop more smart development, nor do
they have the resources to hire such a staff. The Quick-Response Teams
are already on contract through the TGM program and, on short notice,
can be asked to help improve pending development design.
The Smart Development Code Assistance Program. This program
was established to remove regulatory obstacles to smart development
and provide consultant teams that provide code-related work to local
governments. The teams prepare or amend implementing developmental
codes for the transportation system and land use plans, and apply
urban growth management tools.
The Outreach Program.
This program is aimed at increasing the understanding and acceptance
of smart development principles through workshops, partnership programs
and technical assistance for practitioners.
PB Role in TGM Program
Our Oregon office in downtown Portland has received the consulting
contracts for many of the TGM projects since the program's inception.
Our staff has managed more than two dozen TGM projects, which cover
a wide range of transportation/land use topics, including bicycling/pedestrian
path planning, urban growth management, incorporation/annexation,
downtown redevelopment, development and zoning code revisions for
smart development concepts, smart development outreach and education,
pedestrian-friendly site specific design development and transportation
corridor planning.
For more information about Oregon's Transportation Growth Management
Program, please call 1-503-373-0050 ext. 272 or visit its Web site
at www.lcd.state.or.us.
For more information about PB's related experience, contact Greg Chew
in the Portland, Oregon office at 1-503-478-2346 or at chewg@pbworld.com. |
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