April 12, 2010

New help for projects that meet smart growth goals

Smart-growth proponents in the Puget Sound region are launching a program to help projects that meet their goals get through the planning stages.

The Quality Growth Alliance, a group of organizations ranging from the Cascade Land Conservancy to NAIOP, announced the program last week.

A jury will review residential, commercial, institutional and mixed-use projects — both new construction and rehabs.

Developers who get the alliance's seal of approval can use it to publicize their projects as they move through local approval processes. Alliance members will testify before city councils, design review panels and others on behalf of recognized projects.

Kreager

Seattle architect Bill Kreager, chairman of the new program, said the diverse groups behind the program are what gives it credibility. “You have this balanced recognition that, hey, this son of a gun is a good project,” he said. “This sort of thing hasn't happened before.”

There is a submission fee of $2,500. Projects will be considered each quarter, and the first application deadline is June 15. Applications will be kept confidential. If a project is not accepted, the jury's comments will be given to the developer, who will be encouraged to tweak the proposal and re-apply, for an additional $1,500 fee.

“This is not a beauty pageant. This is to help these projects get better... through review before they get entitled,” Kreager said.

To win recognition, a project must help the region achieve “sustainable economic, environmental and quality-of-life objectives,” according to the alliance.

The alliance formed two years ago to help guide the large amount of growth that is expected here. Demographers project King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties will add 1.7 million residents and 1.2 million jobs over the next three decades.

To accommodate that growth responsibly, the alliance wants to help foster zoning and entitlement rules that result in walkable neighborhoods that are near employment centers and along mass-transit lines and roadways. One of the group's goals is to create what it calls “broad public awareness” about smart growth, and the recognition program is one tool.

Jurors picked

Ten jurors will vet submissions, with Kreager leading the panel. Other members are Anne Vernez Moudon, a University of Washington urban design and planning professor; Seattle architect Mark Ludtka; Puget Sound Regional Council planner Ben Bakkenta; Dave Russell, UW professor emeritus of aeronautics and former Kirkland mayor; Seattle developer Jim Mueller; land-use planner Robert W. Thorpe; real estate investor Pete Stone; development consultant and planner Craig Krueger; and M.A. Leonard of Enterprise Community Partners, which invests in affordable housing and community revitalization projects.

The alliance grew out of a 2008 event called Reality Check, a day-long exercise that brought together 250 community and business leaders from the four-county region to come up with ideas for handling anticipated growth. To build on the consensus, organizers of Reality Check launched the alliance.

The eight members of the alliance are the Urban Land Institute Seattle, the Puget Sound Regional Council, Enterprise Community Partners, the UW College of Built Environments, Cascade Land Conservancy, NAIOP, Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties and Futurewise, which encourages growth that protects forests and farmland.

The alliance also is creating Decision Commons. It is being developed in phases and will allow community leaders to create three-dimensional views of neighborhoods they're planning.

The alliance also is providing land-use support and expertise to cities and suburbs where the greatest amount of growth is expected. Alliance members are working with Bellevue, Southeast Seattle and Lynnwood.

Members also have testified before state legislative committees on urban-growth issues. The goal is to help show how land-use decisions affect climate change.

The alliance plans to also recognize forward-thinking land-use programs with awards.