Incentives for healthy communities

A California superior court judge recently upheld the San Joaquin Valley’s innovative Indirect Source Rule, which we helped design and advocate.

The rule requires real estate developers to use energy saving and traffic-reducing designs to cut air pollution — or else pay a fee to reduce nearby pollution. It’s a vital tool for combating the unhealthy effects of traffic and sprawl.

In fast-growing valley, asthma rates are high

The eight-county Valley (whose population increased 60% from 1980 to 2000) stands to lose one million acres, much of it now prime farmland, to development by 2040. With that increase in sprawl will come more air pollution in an already dangerously affected area. Kids in the valley are 35% more likely to have asthma than children nationwide.

Kathryn Phillips, manager of our Clean Air for Life campaign, successfully intervened when a building trade association challenged the rule. But the association is now appealing the court’s decision.

“Their concern is that the San Joaquin rule is just the camel’s nose under the tent — and they’re right,” Phillips says. “Our role is to make sure that camel gets inside every air district where this rule can help.” To that end, we’re working to include similar development rules in California’s plan to implement the Global Warming Solutions Act.