I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5165

To assist States with land use planning in order to promote improved quality

of life, regionalism, sustainable economic development, and environmental

stewardship, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SEPTEMBER 13, 2000

Mr. BLUMENAUER (for himself, Mrs. CHRISTENSEN, Ms. DELAURO, Mr.

FARR of California, Mr. KUCINICH, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. PALLONE, Mrs.

JONES of Ohio, Mr. WEYGAND, and Mr. HOEFFEL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources, and in

addition to the Committees on Banking and Financial Services, and Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in

each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To assist States with land use planning in order to promote

improved quality of life, regionalism, sustainable economic development, and environmental stewardship, and

for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Community Character

5 Act of 2000’’.
2

•HR 5165 IH

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 Congress finds that—

3 (1) inadequate planning at the State level con4 tributes to increased public and private capital costs

5 for infrastructure development, loss of community

6 character, and environmental degradation;

7 (2) land use planning is rightfully within the ju8 risdiction of State and local governments;

9 (3) comprehensive planning and community de10 velopment should be supported by the Federal Gov11 ernment and State governments;

12 (4) States should provide a proper climate and

13 context for planning through legislation in order for

14 appropriate comprehensive land use planning and

15 community development to occur;

16 (5) many States have outdated land use plan17 ning legislation, and many States are undertaking

18 efforts to update and reform the legislation; and

19 (6) efforts to coordinate State resources with

20 local plans require additional planning at the State

21 level.

22 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

23 In this Act:

24 (1) FEDERAL LAND MANAGEMENT AGENCY.—

25 The term ‘‘Federal land management agency’’

26 means the Bureau of Land Management, the Forest
3

•HR 5165 IH

1 Service, and any other Federal land management

2 agency that conducts land use planning for Federal

3 land.

4 (2) LAND USE PLANNING LEGISLATION.—The

5 term ‘‘land use planning legislation’’ means a stat6 ute, regulation, executive order or other action taken

7 by a State to guide, regulate, and assist in the plan8 ning, regulation, and management of land, natural

9 resources, development practices, and other activities

10 related to the pattern and scope of future land use.

11 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

12 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

13 (4) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means a State,

14 the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of

15 Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American

16 Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern

17 Mariana Islands.

18 (5) STATE PLANNING DIRECTOR.—The term

19 ‘‘State planning director’’ means the State official

20 designated by statute or by the Governor whose

21 principal responsibility is the drafting and updating

22 of State guide plans or guidance documents that

23 regulate land use and infrastructure development on

24 a statewide basis.
4

•HR 5165 IH

1 SEC. 4. GRANTS TO STATES FOR UPDATING LAND USE

2 PLANNING LEGISLATION AND INTEGRATING

3 FEDERAL LAND MANAGEMENT AND STATE

4 PLANNING.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish a

6 program to provide grants to States for the purpose of

7 assisting in—

8 (1) as a first priority, development or revision

9 of land use planning legislation in States that cur10 rently have inadequate or outmoded land use plan11 ning legislation; and

12 (2) creation or revision of State comprehensive

13 land use plans or plan elements in States that have

14 updated land use planning legislation.

15 (b) ELIGIBILITY.—To be eligible to receive a grant

16 under subsection (a), a State shall submit to the Sec17 retary, in such form as the Secretary may require, an ap18 plication demonstrating that the State’s basic goals for

19 land use planning legislation reform are consistent with

20 all of the following guidelines:

21 (1) CITIZEN REPRESENTATION.—Citizens are

22 notified and citizen representation is required in the

23 developing, adopting, and updating of land use

24 plans.

25 (2) MULTIJURISDICTIONAL COOPERATION.—In

26 order to effectively manage the impacts of land de-
5

•HR 5165 IH

1 velopment and to provide for resource sustainability,

2 land use plans are created based on multi-jurisdic3 tional governmental cooperation, when practicable,

4 particularly in the case of land use plans based on

5 watershed boundaries.

6 (3) IMPLEMENTATION ELEMENTS.—Land use

7 plans contain an implementation element that—

8 (A) includes a timetable for action and a

9 definition of the respective roles and respon10 sibilities of agencies, local governments, and

11 other stakeholders;

12 (B) is consistent with State capital budget

13 objectives; and

14 (C) provides the framework for decisions

15 relating to the siting of future infrastructure

16 development, including development of utilities

17 and utility distribution systems.

18 (4) COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING.—There is

19 comprehensive planning to encourage land use plans

20 that—

21 (A) promote sustainable economic develop22 ment and social equity;

23 (B) enhance community character;
6

•HR 5165 IH

1 (C) coordinate transportation, housing,

2 education, and other infrastructure develop3 ment;

4 (D) conserve historic resources, scenic re5 sources, and the environment; and

6 (E) sustainably manage natural resources.

7 (5) UPDATING.—Land use plans are routinely

8 updated.

9 (6) STANDARDS.—Land use plans reflect an ap10 proach that is consistent with established profes11 sional planning standards.

12 (c) USE OF GRANT FUNDS.—Grant funds received

13 by a State under subsection (a) shall be used to obtain

14 technical assistance in—

15 (1) drafting land use planning legislation;

16 (2) research and development for land use plan17 ning programs and requirements relating to the de18 velopment of State guide plans;

19 (3) conducting workshops, educating and con20 sulting policy makers, and involving citizens in the

21 planning process; and

22 (4) integrating State and regional concerns and

23 land use plans with Federal land use plans.

24 (d) AMOUNT OF GRANT.—The amount of a grant to

25 a State under subsection (a) shall not exceed $500,000.
7

•HR 5165 IH

1 (e) COST-SHARING.—The Federal share of a project

2 funded with a grant under subsection (a) shall not exceed

3 90 percent.

4 (f) AUDITS.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Inspector General of

6 the Department of Housing and Urban Development

7 shall conduct an audit of a portion of the grants

8 provided under this section to ensure that all funds

9 provided under the grants are used for the purposes

10 specified in this section.

11 (2) USE OF AUDIT RESULTS.—The results of

12 audits conducted under paragraph (1) and any rec13 ommendations made in connection with the audits

14 shall be taken into consideration in awarding any fu15 ture grant under this section to a State.

16 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is

17 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section

18 $25,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2001 through

19 2005.

20 SEC. 5. FEDERAL LAND MANAGEMENT AGENCIES.

21 (a) LAND USE PLANNING COORDINATOR.—The head

22 of each Federal land management agency shall designate

23 an officer to act as coordinator working with State plan24 ning directors on projects funded under section 4.
8

•HR 5165 IH

1 (b) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—A Federal land

2 management agency shall provide to a State planning di3 rector such background information, plans, and relevant

4 budget information as the State planning director con5 siders to be needed in connection with a project funded

6 under section 4.

7 (c) ASSISTANCE AND PARTICIPATION IN COMMUNITY

8 ORGANIZED EVENTS.—Each Federal land management

9 agency shall participate in any community organized

10 events requested by the State planning director.

Æ