Smart Growth does not equal “No Growth.” Responsible growth management does not decide if there will be growth; rather, it decides how and where growth will take place.
Primary goals of growth management should be to promote integrated planning and collaboration, and provide incentives and remove barriers to smart growth development and implementation.
Comprehensive growth planning should be based upon input from all affected parties.
Development decisions are driven by the demands of the local market. Growth management decisions should be made by local government officials, economic planners, developers and other members of the business community who understand the underpinnings of their local economies, community needs and the cultural environment.
The development and growth of a community relies upon basic infrastructure such as water, sewer, roads and education – all of which fall under the domain of local government.
Injecting a federal planning commission into the growth management process would create an overly bureaucratic and inefficient arbiter to development that does not understand the nuances of each individual local economy.