In the News

from the Advocate, Baton Rouge, LA, 12.23.03

Experts to examine growth in BR area  

By
Advocate staff writer

Plan Baton Rouge will bring in experts in the concepts of "smart growth" to review the city-parish's ordinances and building codes and recommend how to improve them for better development.

The group received a grant from the Smart Growth Leadership Institute, a project of Smart Growth America.

It was created by former Maryland Gov. Parris Glendening to help state and local elected, civic and business leaders design and implement effective smart growth strategies.

The institute's Web site defines smart growth as techniques that "can give us greater control over the pace and pattern of our communities' growth. We can have the benefits of growth -- more jobs, a broader tax base, and a healthy economy -- with fewer of the costs associated with poorly planned development."

Plan Baton Rouge Director Elizabeth "Boo" Thomas announced the grant last week.

The grant will provide funding for a national smart growth team to visit Louisiana in the early part of the coming year, Thomas said.

"This is a wonderful opportunity, and one that I hope will help us better structure our local systems to make smart growth easier and profitable," Thomas said.

Based on the costs for similar code audits for smaller cities, Thomas said she thinks the institute's gift will be worth $60,000 to $100,000 in work.

She said communities across the nation were encouraged to apply for the program assistance through a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and offered by the Smart Growth Leadership Institute and a team of experts from the University of Southern California and the University of Colorado.

"There was very little debate about the merit of Baton Rouge's application," said Jessica Cogan, deputy director of the Smart Growth Leadership Institute, in a news release issued by Plan Baton Rouge.

Plan Baton Rouge is widely recognized as a smart growth model because it relies on existing infrastructure, balances conflicts between motorists and pedestrians, enhances the pedestrian experience and offers to reduce sprawl and pull development back toward the central city.