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The Ratkovich Company in the News LEADERSHIP NEEDED We can grow and protect our quality of life. California Real Estate Journal – January, 2001 By Wayne Ratkovich The political and business leadership of California received a significant wake-up call at the ballot box on Nov. 7. That’s when voters were asked to approve 60 separate measures all aimed at restricting growth. More than 30 of these measures were adopted, ranging from halting construction of a Wal-Mart in Yucaipa, to the so-called Greenlight Initiative in Newport Beach. The latter will require all projects in that city to be approved by the voters prior to construction thus effectively shutting down significant development in that community. Taking control While many casual observers of the political scene were surprised by the extent to which growth has become an issue, it came as no surprise to those of us in the real estate development business. As California has regained its economic footing following the depression of the early 1990s, we have begun to see arise in the “not in my backyard” or NIMBY syndrome so prevalent in the go-go 80s. It’s clear that communities have the impression that growth is necessarily synonymous with increased traffic, crime and environmental pollution, among other negatives. In the face of an increasingly depersonalized society, they are seeking to exert control over their lives. Added to this are the general concerns about the impact the population explosion, particularly in Southern California, is likely to have upon the overall quality of life in the next decade. Projections call for the addition of 3.2 million new residents in the Southland during that period. That’s equivalent to adding a city the size of Chicago to an infrastructure already burdened and aging. Smart growth While we can appreciate and even identify with the concerns of those who see growth as the enemy, the fact is we have no choice. We simply cannot close the borders of California to those who seek to participate in the extraordinary vitality of this region. Even if we could, we already have a major jobs/housing imbalance that will only become worse as our existing population grows. So what’s the answer? In the recent past, the Urban Land Institute has taken a lead in creating a national program entitled “smart growth.” While seen by some as just another attempt by developers to build, and by others as a code phrase for no growth, Smart Growth is an attempt to build a constituency around the concept that well planned and executed growth not only doesn’t detract from but actually can enhance the quality of life. ULI has reached out to a variety of public arid private groups that have an interest in fostering a process that can lead to the creation of consensus around the issues of urban and suburban growth. Since the program is relatively new, the jury remains out on its prospects for success. But a developer-driven program, no matter how well intentioned, may not be the answer. Leadership is lacking After being intimately involved with planning and development issues in Southern California for almost three decades, my view is that responsibility for the current conflicts over growth can be traced to a decided lack of political leadership at the local level. Many local governments have limited vision when it comes to creating a comprehensive planning and land use process. ‘This leads to a paucity of clearly defined ground rules and a lack of transparency in an already murky process. In some communities it’s simply a question of planning capability but in others like Los Angeles, it’s based on political expediency. Since there’s no clearly identifiable master plan to follow, most planning decisions are made on a case-by-case basis with the discretionary process highly dependent on the local council member. This leads to planning department staff reluctance or inability to make decisions and in some cases causes paralysis of the development process. It’s therefore no wonder that developers and their representatives are some of the most generous sources of financial support for local governmental campaigns. Finding a solution The solution to the problem of managing growth in order to insure time protection and even the improvement of our quality of life demands strong regional leadership. By this I don’t necessarily mean political leadership. The Expansion Utah program, for example, which was initiated by several local communities in Utah, has been able to bring a variety of special interest groups together to buy into a plan for future development of the region. I propose that all the stakeholders — educational institutions, environmentalists, developers, historic preservationists, transportation experts and air and water quality specialists — get together and coalesce around the theme of planning Southern California’s future. This coalition would be ideally headed by a respected public figure who is neither an elected official or perceived to be in any way connected to the interested parties. This broad-based group would hopefully overcome one of the greatest hurdles to regional planning: the plethora of competing special interests with their well-intended but parochial agendas. With this structure in place we could begin the arduous process of finding the Holy Grail of creating growth in the public interest. The history of this country is replete with examples of our ability to build great livable cities. There is no reason that we can’t replicate that success in the 21st century. Wayne Ratkovich is president of The Ratkovich Company, a Los Angeles urban development firm. He is also co-chairman of the Smart Growth Task Force for the Urban Land Institute’s Los Angeles District Council. ‹‹ back |