Agencies crafting growth strategy [Bay Area - Local]

Worried about soaring population growth in the Bay Area, an unprecedented coalition of government and private interests is asking for the public's help in drawing up a land-use plan that supporters say would pave the way for smart growth.

Although the 20-year plan won't have the force of law, the coalition spearheaded by the Association of Bay Area Governments is hoping it will influence policymakers. The coalition wants to increase the supply of apartments and townhouses and expand public transit in existing cities, rather than let the growth continue to spill into open land and the Central Valley.

But homeowners who live in neighborhoods designated for denser housing say the plan would ruin their quality of life and embolden cities to force them to sell their land for development.

``Smart growth? Smart for whom?'' asked Dana Smith, a Daly City resident who said neighbors have been excluded from the discussion and who is helping to organize a regionwide opposition effort.

>>> Yes.  I manage to get quoted in this article by Tracey Kaplan.  This piece captures the degrees of differences surrounding the regional planning effort.

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