Measure A Sparks Debate Over Growth and County’s Future
Measure A is the best chance that we will ever get to get a grip on traffic congestion in Orange County.
The initiative will simply require county government to follow the guidelines, standards and parameters which exist today in the land-use planning laws governing growth and development in Orange County. Unfortunately, the supervisors (and city councils) have tended to ignore those guidelines in their land-use decisions. Thus the traffic mess we have today.
If the initiative passes, discipline will be restored to the planning process.
As a practical matter, the initiative will prevent the county supervisors from approving large projects which will overload the present day non-freeway traffic system. The developers will continue to develop because that is the nature of their business; and with their developments will come traffic improvements, under the terms of the initiative.
We should not ignore the other benefits of the initiative. With slow growth and less dense development, we will have cleaner air. Crime rates are lower with less urbanized development. Property values remain high and incentive is enhanced for rebuilding older areas.
JAN D. VANDERSLOOT
Newport Beach
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