U.N. Agenda 21: Sustainable Development in California

Updated for 2014, this second edition of 'U.N. Agenda 21: Sustainable Development in California' is compiled by The American Coalition for Sustainable Communities (ACSC). ACSC is an organization comprised of affiliate groups throughout the United States and is committed to the goal of educating individuals, elected officials, their staff and planners about the potential unanticipated consequences of Sustainable Development (SD). Now that many policies derived from SD are showing up in cities and counties across the United States, elected officials, public employees and the public are seeking information and answers to their questions. The reader can use this publication as a tool and roadmap to educate themselves about SD so that they can recognize it in their community; then, engage their elected officials in order to further debate the issues. Publication Features 1. Dimensions of Sustainability AB32 & SB375 Assessment Standards and Critical Review 2. Historical Overview SD 3. How to Recognize SD in Your Community 4. Understanding Regionalism 5. How to Identify SD in Planning Legislation and Regulations 6. Sustainable Development Terms 7. How to Avoid Pitfalls 8. Highlighted Summary Reference of AB32 & SB375 Laws Key Findings City Carbon Inventories Are Voluntary - AB32 and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) Scoping Plan implementing AB32 cannot specifically mandate that each individual city adopt its own greenhouse gas reduction plan to meet AB32 targets on a city-specific basis. Cities Maintain Land Use Authority - “Nothing in a sustainable communities strategy shall be interpreted as superseding the exercise of the land use authority of cities and counties within the region” under SB375. Organizations Are Voluntary - Membership in organizations such as the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG) is 100% voluntary. Compensation Mandatory - Government must compensate property owners for any restrictions on the owner’s property. Elected Officials Loose Authority - Regional councils ultimately replace much of local officials’ authority.