Smart Growth America
Quarterly Coalition Call Notes
July 16, 2008
Attendees: Dru, 1000 Friends of MD; John Davis, CNU; Ben Starrett, Funders Network;
Jim Durrett Livable Communities Coalition; Danielle Welliver, 1000 Friends of Oregon;
Julie Lalo, 10000 Friends of PA; Julie Seward, LISC; Charlie Bartsch, ICF; Rhonda
Sincavage, National Trust; David, CNT; Kevin Mills, RTC; Kate Wright, Local
Government Commission;
Peter Kaselbach, NJ Future; Stephanie, 1000 friends of IA; Rich Lukas, APA; Elaine
Clegg, Idaho SG; Bri West, Piedmont Environmental Council; Andre Lereiux, Mass
smart growth; Stewart, Coalition for Smarter Growth; JoAnne, 1000 friends of New
Mexico; Geoff Anderson, Kate Rube, Stephanie Potts, Steve Davis, Tamar Shapiro,
Shelly Hazle, Jennifer Leonard, Smart Growth America
Follow-Up from the Meeting:
 Give SGA feedback (or your favorite factoid) on Gas Prices talking points,
sample LTE and gas prices fact sheet – to be created
(coalition.smartgrowthamerica.org)
 Let Geoff Anderson know if interested in funding for election day list building
 Let SGA know if you’re interested in working with us on August district
meetings
SGA Will:
 Set up a call regarding August in-district Meetings
 Set up a call for those interested in election day list building
 Distribute policy papers regarding smart growth and transportation to
presidential and congressional candidates
 E-mail additional updates that we couldn’t go over during the call
Messaging around Gas Prices—Steve Davis, Communications Associate, SGA
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So far we’ve had good play in the media around our issues, but supply side
arguments are wide-spread – want to make sure that smart growth is a
solution.
Gas prices are now THE issue, allows us to be out in front with our message.
We have put materials together on the coalition site –
coalition.smartgrowthamerica.org:
o Gov. Glendening wrote an op-ed for planetizen
o Outlined talking points and facts around gas prices:
o Talking about the supply side puts us in debates we don’t want to
be a part of
o Americans are innovative and resourceful in the face of high gas
prices.
o Now people have done what they can easily do – exhausted the
low-hanging fruit
o We’re riding transit and driving less
o However, increased demand matched with soaring costs = service
cuts
o When people live close and have access to transit – they use it.
o However, most systems are old and need improvements
o Highest ridership days are today
o This isn’t social engineering – this is about preference changes,
backed up by polling
o Gas price spike popped the housing bubble.
o Supply is not meeting demand partially due to slow moving builders
as well as the zoning, legal barriers.
o We’re ready to do something different
 Feedback and talking point suggestions: it’s all about the framing of the
problem
o Elaine (ID) – we get tagged as “antis” if we dismiss supply side.
Instead “if we drill, we’ll use up what’s left of our domestic supplies,
leave our grandchildren with nothing.” Eventually we’ll use all the
oil, but you want your kids to grow food later, not to use your SUV
now.
o Dru – Quality of life – amount of time in cars is annoying to begin
with.
o Jim (GA) – billions flowing out of the country into oil countries – is
that how we want to invest? Or do we want to invest in our future?
o Steve: polling says talk about energy security before climate
 Personal pocket book also critical
 We cannot drill our way out of this situation
 Stewart: if we drill now, it will go to India and China. What we
have is a strategic reserve, being efficient is best.
 If you have comments on talking points as well as the sample LTE and “smart
growth and gas prices fact sheet” that will be assembled soon, please
send it in. Also send in your favorite factoids for the fact sheet.
o Pete – quantifying how much we send overseas would be helpful
Walkscore:
 Became a buzz last year – rates your address based on walkability
 Releasing a new tool tomorrow, will rank the top 40 cities by walkability by
individual neighborhood. Anticipating a lot of publicity
 Have created a petition to “improve America’s walkscore” – in coordination with
T4A
o John @ CNU – does it include transit? No
 It’s about messaging, not the most practical of tools.
o Dru: realtors can’t use “walkability” to describe a place because a lot of
people can’t walk, it becomes a legal issue.
 Rankings will also look at the least walkable cities and profile the most walkable
neighborhoods within these cities.
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o “Cool Spots” from NRDC – how’s it different?
o Cool Spots is from criterion planning index, shows where potential cool
spots could be with the appropriate changes and strategic investments.
www.crit.com
o Can show potential carbon reductions
o Can show to planners
T4America is putting together the transportation/land use policy connection to
gas prices. Will be distributing it to as many candidates as possible.
Building your Membership on Election Day
 Most time and energy efficient way to build membership is to go to the polls on
election day
 Can collect thousands of e-mail addresses w/trained volunteers etc.
o Piedmont Environmental Council experience: This list received updates
about policies and bills, PEC won every campaign they were involved with
b/c each legislator got about 150 letters on these issues.
o Loudoun County efforts stopped hundreds of thousands of sprawling
houses subsequent to this kind of list-building.
 One major effort to build your list can make you effective for the rest of the year.
 This fall will be a huge opportunity
o Good way to get a group that crosses the political spectrum (as opposed
to going to a Sierra Club meeting)
Geoff: our ability to influence policy is based on our ideas and how many people we can
mobilize. This seems like a tool that we know works for policy, fundraising and listbuilding
o SGA may have raised some money to support some state orgs to do this on
election day – preparation time is quick
 This could fund posters, handouts, food etc.
 Organize volunteers to go to polling station, ask questions, bring a
petition/sign-up list
 Tips for volunteers and a timeline to set this up was attached to the e-mail
and is on the coalition website. We will have a call for those who are
interested.
 Which national groups want to help partner with locals and then which local
groups want to lead
 Who’s interested?
 Julie, LISC – happy to help with local chapters
 Rebecca at Coalition for Smarter Growth can talk in more detail to
those who are interested
 Chris Miller from Piedmont Enviro Council may also be helpful
Send Geoff an e-mail if you’re interested
 May need a forum on sharing messaging
 Might want to think about powerful committee members and their
districts.
 One thing that makes the tactic powerful is having good e-advocacy
infrastructure.
In District meetings in August
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Good time to get meetings not only with staff but also with members
Any of you who may be interested: we have a sample meeting-request letter to
go to scheduler on the coalition website (and follow-up with calls)
o We would love if you could talk about transportation issues
o Can support the work we’re doing
We’ll send out talking points for those meetings and you should add your
priorities as well
We will schedule a call at the end of the month or the beginning of August in
order to go over the talking points and support that we can provide.
We can work with local chapters as well so that you could do a joint meeting to
show a broad coalition of interest on these issues.
Lobby day meetings can be really effective – e.g. greenbelt alliance had
meetings with Tauscher – led to one of her staffers being a leader on this issue.
Got a dear colleague letter, metropolitan mobility caucus.
o Charlie: If SGA can have keep info about past meetings, that’s an effective
tool.
Who intends to have this meetings?
o Dru @ 1000 friends of Maryland
o Jim Durrett – now intrigued
o Stewart – Planning to work on a few DC-area races.
o Pete, NJ Future – wasn’t planning on it, but if SGA identified a critical
person, they would consider it (Lautenberg)
Updates (and feedback for Geoff):
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Jim – attended a meeting at the invitation of CDC and another health group. Was
only land use smart growth person there. Point was to organize a “healthiest
Nation Alliance”
o Tipping point of getting an organized health community across the country
using our playbook
Joanne – There is a relationship b/w CDC and health plan
endowments/foundations: Healthy Eating Active Living Convergence Partnership.
Multi-field and equity focused strategies. Looking at policy relating to the built
environment: www.convergencepartnership.org. Mildred Thompson (PolicyLink)
is convening this. Joanne will be presenting at a childhood obesity conference.
o Ben – Judith Bell @ PolicyLink. Rich Killingsworth has joined as director of
strategic planning – potential ally.
o Dru – had a conversation with a diverse coalition and in mentioning the
federal level opportunities, no one had heard of the federal possibility.
Julie (LISC) – state level
o MN – funding backing light rail project around twin cities
o CA – successful in getting a prop passed that is enlightened about
eminent domain/takings initiatives issues.
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o NY – legislation from Patterson for the creation of county land banks.
o AZ – large initiative underway around a transportation referendum this fall.
Doing advocacy around that.
o PA – vacant properties legislation is actively moving
Geoff – California climate plan. CARB report on how reductions will be achieved
was just released. Amount of reductions expected from smart growth is really
small because they decided it wasn’t feasible.
o E-mail sdavis@smartgrowthamerica.org if want to get involved
o Kate from LGC – CARB took numbers from growing cooler – confident
that it is what they can justify.
 Need to check and make sure they’ve interpreted the numbers
correctly
o Stewart – 5-6% CO2 reductions from smart growth in other regional
studies as well.