Program | Sponsors & Cosponsors | Speakers
Public Health Track | Location | Press

Full Conference Agenda

Friday, June 27, 2003

12: 00-3:00pm
5:00-8:00pm
Grand Ballroom Foyer
Conference Registration

Optional Pre-conference Sessions/Workshops

12:30-3:00pm
Garden Room
Health and the Built Environment: A Primer for Public Health Professionals

This is the first session in the Public Health Track. Increasingly, the public health community is being called on to address the multiple health impacts of the built environment including obesity, physical activity, health disparities, environmental health and injuries. This session provides public health professionals with a rationale for why the built environment is a public health issue, how to design for healthier communities, and how public health professionals can play a role in the local land use and transportation planning process. Specific sub-sessions include:

• Impacts of the Built Environment on Health
• Designing for Healthy and Walkable Neighborhoods
• The Role of Public Health in Community Design

• Tina Zenzola, Director, Safe and Healthy Communities Consulting

2:00-3:00pm
depart Garden Room
Taking it to the Streets: A Walking Tour for Public Health Professionals

This is the second session in the Public Health Track. Studies show residents of pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods are more active and have lower body mass. Other aspects of the built environment also affect public health. We'll take a walk through parts of Downtown San Diego and see why it's attracting new residents interested in walking more. What makes a neighborhood more walkable, and what other public health consequences do residents, their elderly neighbors, and children face there? Participants will receive WalkSanDiego's new "Walkability Checklist".

• Andy Hamilton, WalkSanDiego; Air Resource Specialist, San Diego Air Pollution Control District

2:00-3:30pm
Horton E Room
Involving Youth in the Planning Process

The session will explore the rationale for youth engagement including benefits to youth and adult communities. A variety of viewpoints will be shared by panelists representing nonprofit organizations, local government, and the youth perspective. Models for youth involvement and successful case studies will be presented.

• Kate Boyd, Project Director, California Center for Civic Participation and Youth Development
• Councilmember Connie Stewart, City of Arcata

2:00-4:30pm
Horton AB Room
Military Base Encroachment & Collaborative Land Use Decision Making

This is an interactive workshop to help local government officials, installation management, the business community, and community groups devise strategies and implementation plans to maximize military training missions and minimize the adverse impacts of urban/suburban growth. The long-term viability of local governments and military installations depends on their commitment to understanding the impacts that their respective policies and actions have on the other. Learn about the results of a recent California encroachment study of four California bases and why local government officials and military leaders must work together to shape collaborative land use solutions.

• Joseph Schilling, Director, Community and Economic Development, ICMA
• Dr. William J. Jeffereds, Senior Military Advisor to the Governor, Technology, Trade and Commerce Agency
• Eve Somjen, Assistant Director, Department of Planning and Development, City of Fairfield
• Charlotte Laura Thornton, COMCABWEST, Deputy Assistant Chief of Staff, Community Plans and Liaison Officer, Miramar, MCAS
• Aimee Houghton, Associate Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
• Amy Duffy, Member, Amy Duffy, LLC

2:00-4:30pm
Horton CD Room
Livable Communities on a Regional Scale

Most of the forces that shape the state's regions reach across political boundaries. Join us for a panel that features regional approaches to the most pressing issues facing California - housing, transportation, jobs, and open space. This session is made possible through the California Policy Reform Network, a new civic partnership advancing state policy reform in the areas of infrastructure and growth.

• Nick Bollman, President and CEO, California Center Regional Leadership
• Scott Grimes, Director of research and Program Development, San Diego Dialogue
• Steve Kinsey, Vice Chair, Metropolitan Transportation Commission; Marin County Supervisor
• Katherine Perez, Executive Director, Transportation and Land Use Collaborative of Southern California
• Michael Stepner, Director of Land Use and Housing, San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp.
• Matt Franklin, Director, California Department of Housing and Community Development

3:00-5:00pm
Garden Room
Livable Communities 101: Making the Multi-Disciplinary Connections

This is the third session in the Public Health Track. This session will define Smart Growth or livable communities strategies from the perspective of a city planner, public health professional, city manager, water resources professional, and crime prevention expert. Learn the community design elements that serve the overlapping needs of each of these disciplines.

• Al Zelinka, AICP, Principle Community Planner, RBF Consulting’s Urban Design Studio
• Frank Benest, City Manager, City of Palo Alto
• Alex Kelter, Chief, Epidemiology & Prevention for Injury Control (EPIC) Branch, California Department of Health Services
• Martha Davis, Executive Manager for Policy Development, Inland Empire Utilities Agency

Main Conference Program

7:00-7:30pm
Grand Ballroom
Welcome & Introductions

• Councilmember Jake Mackenzie, City of Rohnert Park; LGC Board Member
• Brian Smith, Deputy Director of Planning & Modal Programs, California Department of Transportation
• Alex Kelter, Chief, Epidemiology & Prevention for Injury Control (EPIC) Branch, California Department of Health Services

7:30-8:30pm
Grand Ballroom
Challenges & Opportunities: Planning and Building a More Livable California

Professor Dowell Meyers is an expert in predicting the demographic changes that are likely to occur in California. He will present his findings and describe the land use patterns that might best accommodate our growing and changing population.

John Russo will respond by describing the challenges that state and local government will face in addressing California’s future population growth. He will suggest that with the challenges will come opportunities.

• Professor Dowell Myers, Director, Master of Planning Program, USC
• John Russo, City Attorney, City of Oakland; President, League of California Cities

8:30-9:30pm
Garden Room
Networking Reception

Saturday, June 28, 2003

7:00-8:30am
Grand Ballroom Foyer
Conference Registration / Continental Breakfast

8:30-8:40am
Grand Ballroom
Morning Welcome

• Mayor Pro Tem Ramona Finnila, City of Carlsbad; Board Member, San Diego Association of Governments

8:40-10:15am
Grand Ballroom
Many Want Livable Communities - But How Do We Get Them Built?

An ever-increasing number of cities are adopting the livable communities vision, but government codes, ordinances and processes stand in the way. Developers and builders will describe the barriers they face and leading local government officials will describe how cities and counties can accommodate and encourage projects that will make our communities more livable.

• John Anderson, Vice President, New Urban Builders
• Tony Pauker, Managing Director, The Olson Company
• Ryan Lehman, Executive Director, Livable Places

Local Government Discussion Panel

• Facilitator: Chris McKenzie, Executive Director, League of California Cities
• Rick Cole, City Manager, City of Azusa
• Gail Goldberg, Planning Director, City of San Diego
• Mayor Bev Perry, City of Brea

10:15-10:30am
Grand Ballroom Foyer
Morning Break

10:30-12:00pm

Concurrent Breakout Sessions

Crystal Room
Addressing California’s Affordable Housing Challenge

A lack of affordable housing is seen by many as one of the most serious challenges facing California today. The local government policy responses will be reviewed with a particular focus on inclusionary housing, while a city official and a nonprofit developer describe their own, individual experiences.

• Ray Colmenar, Senior Associate, PolicyLink
• Nico Calavita, Professor, San Diego State University
• Robin Hughes, Executive Director, Los Angeles Community Design Center

Pavilion Room
A Smart-Growth Friendly Transportation System

As regions think about the next generation of transportation projects — should they be thinking less about transit here and roads there and more about shaping the system? What has proven effective in improving mobility while expanding a system? This panel of transportation experts will look at precisely this question in the context of making better places at the same time.

• Moderator: Councilmember Patricia McCoy, City of Imperial Beach (invited)
• Brian Smith, Deputy Director of Planning & Modal Programs, California Department of Transportation
• Alan Hoffman, Principal, The Mission Group
• Steve Kinsey, Vice Chair, Metropolitan Transportation Commission; Marin County Supervisor

Horton AB Room
What Can Health Partners Bring to the Table?

This session will provide participants with an understanding of the various roles that public health can play, and strategies for more public health involvement and greater collaboration between local health and community design professionals. It will not only show planners and others what public health can bring to the table, but also what public health can gain from this process. (This session is considered part of the Public Health Track.)

• Moderator: Tina Zenzola, Director, Safe and Healthy Communities Consulting
• Barb Alberson, Chief, State & Local Injury Control Section, California Department of Health Services
• Diane Winn, Associate Director, Child Injury and Traffic Safety Research Group, UC Irvine
• Dr. Anthony Iton, Alameda County Health Officer, Alameda County Public Health Department
• Robin Pelletier, Director, Nutrition Network News

Garden Room
Using Smart Growth to Protect & Enhance Water Resources

Urban runoff is the primary cause of water pollution. A utility executive will describe the big picture — how smart growth on a regional scale can actually reduce urban runoff while increasing water supplies. New EPA runoff requirements require communities to absorb water on-site. A landscape architect will describe how to accomplish this while, at the same time, making an individual home site or new development far more attractive.

• Moderator: Councilmember Susan Lien Longville, City of San Bernardino
• Martha Davis, Executive Manager for Policy Development, Inland Empire Utilities Agency
• Ken Kay, Principal, Ken Kay Associates

Horton CD Room
How to Make Places Walkable: A Case Study

This session highlights two cities that have tackled this challenge and have taken steps to makes their cities walkable. Come hear how the cities of Oakland and San Diego are getting it done, one step at a time. (This session is considered part of the Public Health Track.)

• Moderator: Alex Kelter, Chief, Epidemiology & Prevention for Injury Control (EPIC) Branch, California Department of Health Services
• Supervisor Nate Miley, Alameda County
• Zac Wald, Board President, California Walks; Assistant to Councilmember Jane Brunner, City of Oakland
• Andy Hamilton, WalkSanDiego; Air Resource Specialist, San Diego Air Pollution Control District

Horton E Room
Schools as Centers of Community: The Progress and the Challenges

Fifty billion dollars over the next decade will be publicly spent on school facilities in California. Both school reform and smart growth advocates have long argued that these new educational facilities ought to be sited, programmed, constructed and managed to better relate to neighborhood, business and social service organizations, and to civic and cultural institutions. Locally elected school and city officials increasingly agree on the value of linking children and families with schools. So do community leaders and such social service organizations as Boy's and Girls Clubs and the Y's. This session will examine what stands in the way of moving schools as centers of community from pilots to policy and practice.

• David Abel, Chairman and Managing Director, New Schools Better Neighborhoods

12:00-1:15pm
Grand Ballroom
Networking Luncheon

1:15-2:30pm

Concurrent Breakout Sessions

Crystal Room
It’s Design Not Density That Counts

Efforts by Smart Growth advocates to build more compact, higher density housing often run into opposition from neighbors that associate it with poorly designed, high-rise apartments, traffic congestion, crime and neighborhood deterioration. This session will discuss ways to gain support for well-designed compact development and will highlight a public participation tool-kit developed by the LGC for that purpose.

• Moderator: Gail Goldberg, Planning Director, City of San Diego
• Paul Zykofsky, Director, Transportation & Land Use Programs, Local Government Commission
• Julie Spezia, State Issues Director, California Futures Network

Horton AB Room
Traffic Safety, Walkability and Safe Routes to Transit

Pedestrian safety and walkability is key to successful transit and Livable Communities efforts. This session explores developing “Safe Routes to Transit” and the special opportunities and challenges to pedestrians and bicyclists presented by multi-modal “Smart Corridors.” (This session is considered part of the Public Health Track.)

• Moderator: Mayor Pro Tem Ramona Finnila, City of Carlsbad; Board Member, San Diego Association of Governments
• Dr. David Ragland, Director, Traffic Safety Center, UC Berkeley
• Elizabeth Deakin, Associate Professor, UC Berkeley; Director, UC Transportation Center
• Ray Sosa, Transportation Planning Manager, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority
• Delores Roybal, Project Manager, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Horton E Room
Smart Growth Saves Energy

This panel will explore the how local growth decisions affect energy use, and what communities are doing with current programs and in planning for future growth to reduce energy consumption and generate renewable energy.

• Moderator: Pat Stoner, Resource Conservation Program Director, Local Government Commission
• John Ruggieri, Senior Vice President, ProjectDesign Consultants
• Scott Anders, Program Manager, San Diego Regional Energy Office
• Craig Perkins, Director of Environmental and Pubic Works Management, City of Santa Monica

Garden Room
Planning for Growth in Rural Communities

How can planning celebrate and build upon our pattern of successes, not our mistakes? Current planning may keep the worst from happening, but it often does not bring out the best of our communities. What does Success Look Like? How can communities get what they want? How do you make it easier for elected officials to do the right thing? How do you create model project for others to follow?

A unique collaboration of a Nonprofit, Community Development Department and Builder use patterns books and a toolkit to learn from the past and each other to build better future.

• Darin Dinsmore, Director of Town Planning Services, Sierra Business Council
• Tony Lashbrook, Community Development Director, Town of Truckee
• Philip Carville, President, Carville Sierra Inc.

Horton CD Room
Community Indicators for Livable Communities

Using results from a new study on the growth of the community indicators movement in California, this session provides an overview of projects statewide, and a presentation of the most commonly used indicators or benchmarks for tracking community progress toward livable communities. These projects explicitly integrate social, economic, environmental, and civic engagement measures. Two leaders in this field will discuss new reports for Ventura and Orange Counties, with guidance on how to initiate an indicator project for a community or region, and how civic leaders can use these reports for planning and community action.

• Bill Fulton, President, Solimar Reseach Group
• Trish Kelly, Economic Development Consultant, CCRL
• Mike Ruane, Project Director, Orange County Community Indicators

Pavilion Room
Trends in Transit-Oriented Development

As advocates for smarter places, we throw around terms like “mixed use” and “transit oriented development or TODs.” Come hear an overview of strategies from a transportation professional, followed by a presentation by a developer who is now building several TODs. Finally, you’ll hear how one transportation commission is working with other regional entities to provide incentives and regulatory changes to encourage TOD development.

• Moderator: Michael Stepner, Director of Land Use and Housing, San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp.
• Terry Parker, Land Use/Transit Coordinator, California Department of Transportation
• Michael Dieden, President, Creative Housing Associates
• Steve Kinsey, Vice Chair, Metropolitan Transportation Commission; Marin County Supervisor

2:30-2:45pm
Grand Ballroom Foyer
Afternoon Break

2:45-4:00pm

Concurrent Breakout Sessions

Horton AB Room
Social Equity: Communities Built for Everybody

To be smart, growth must accommodate all segments of the populations and reduce the divide between haves and have nots. A nonprofit organization will describe why their work to improve the health of low income groups is now focused, in part, on smart growth principles and an advocate for Latino communities will discuss why and how his organization is promoting smart growth.

• Moderator: Councilmember Ana Ventura Phares, City of Watsonville
• Francisco Estrada, Senior Policy Analyst, Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund
• Larry Cohen, Executive Director, Prevention Institute

Pavilion Room
Code Check-Up: How “Smart” are your Codes?

Many existing zoning, building, and engineering codes can prevent cities from achieving Smart Growth. Join us for a discussion on how local leaders and land use practitioners can modify existing ordinances and codes and what these new codes might look like. Learn about the benefits and pitfalls from several case studies and from the LGC’s recently published guide on “Smart Growth Zoning Codes.”

• Paul Zykofsky, Director, Transportation & Land Use Programs, Local Government Commission
• Joseph Schilling, Director, Community and Economic Development, ICMA
• Kelly Broughton, Chief Deputy Director, Development Services Department, City of San Diego

Horton CD Room
Placemaking Through Policing: The Benefits of Smart Growth to Public Safety

The connections between crime prevention, enhanced public safety, and smart growth are mysterious to many public officials, planners, designers, and law enforcement professionals. This session will provide participants with a better understanding of how smart growth can benefit the public safety of cities through insights and perspectives shared by a progressive police and community planner.

• Al Zelinka, AICP, Principle Community Planner, RBF Consulting’s Urban Design Studio
• Ken Weldon, Chief of Police, El Monte Police Department

Garden Room
Answering the Call for Open Space and Farmland Protection

This session will provide an overview of funding strategies and other options for open space and farmland protection, as well as present some successful case studies. Information from the Institute for Local Self Government's Farmland Protection Guide and soon to be released Open Space Funding Guide will also be highlighted.

• Terry Watt, Owner, Terrell Watt Planning Consultants
• Keith Gurnee, Principal, RRM Group

Horton E Room
Smart Growth and Labor: Putting Californians to Work

Labor unions have recently embraced the smart growth agenda. Come hear two high-ranking labor officials tell why they feel Smart Growth is good for labor, what unions are doing about it, and how you might join forces with them.

• Moderator: Amy Adams, California Works Foundation (invited)
• Paul Rosenstein, National Representative, AFL-CIO Western Region
• John Dalrymple, Executive Director, Central Labor Council of Contra Costa County

Crystal Room
Community Design: Necessary but Not Sufficient

Helping people incorporate walking into their daily lives may mean both changing land use patterns and changing behavioral patterns. To accomplish this, it takes good data, behavioral psychology, strategic marketing and local champions. Learn about the "Healthy Transportation Network," a project designed to support the adoption of smart growth policies, practices and places throughout California, and the City of San Jose's Street Smarts campaign - a case study of how to create political and behavioral change among drivers, pedestrians and bicyclists.

• Moderator: Laurie Ahlf, Project Coordinator, Healthy Transportation Network, California Department of Health Services
• Jen Garner, Director, BBC Research and Consulting
• Corina Wohlers, PhD, Senior Associate, BBC Research and Consulting
• Linda Crabill, Community Relations Manager, City of San Jose DOT

4:15-4:45pm
Grand Ballroom
Closing Keynote — California Leads the Way To Livability

People across the nation and the world still look to California to define the cutting edge. Sometimes our models succeed, other times they don’t Ð but because people are looking, we have tremendous influence... Learn about the exciting work of the Governor’s Office of Planning and Research to make California a positive model for addressing the challenges of the future.

• Tal Finney, Director, Governor’s Office of Planning and Research