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107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1433

To authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make

grants to assist States, tribal governments, and Native Hawaiian organizations in their efforts to develop or update land use planning legislation

in order to promote more environmentally compatible and effective urban

development, improved quality of life, regionalism, sustainable economic

development, and environmental stewardship, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 4, 2001

Mr. BLUMENAUER (for himself, Mr. ABERCROMBIE, Mr. FARR of California,

Mr. GILCHREST, Mr. GILLMOR, Mr. HOEFFEL, Mr. ISAKSON, Mrs.

JONES of Ohio, Mr. PALLONE, and Mr. UDALL of Colorado) introduced

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on Resources, 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 authorize the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development to make grants to assist States, tribal governments,

and Native Hawaiian organizations in their efforts to

develop or update land use planning legislation in order

to promote more environmentally compatible and effective urban development, improved quality of life, regionalism, sustainable economic development, and environmental stewardship, and for other purposes.
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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 2001’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds the following:

8 (1) Inadequate land use planning at the State

9 level contributes to increased public and private cap10 ital costs for infrastructure development, loss of

11 community character, and environmental degrada12 tion.

13 (2) Although land use planning is rightfully

14 within the jurisdiction of State and local govern15 ments, comprehensive land use planning and urban

16 development should be supported by the Federal

17 Government and State governments.

18 (3) States should provide a proper climate and

19 context for planning through legislation in order for

20 appropriate comprehensive land use planning and

21 urban development to occur.

22 (4) Many States have outdated land use plan23 ning legislation, and many States are undertaking

24 efforts to update and reform the legislation.
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1 (5) Efforts to coordinate State and regional in2 vestments with local plans require additional plan3 ning at the State level.

4 (6) Housing is a critical component of sustain5 able urban development, and land use planning

6 should provide for a range of housing options to

7 offer choice in location, type, and affordability to all

8 members of the community.

9 (7) The Federal Government and State govern10 ments should support the efforts of tribal govern11 ments and Native Hawaiian organizations to imple12 ment land use planning and community development

13 to improve housing and socioeconomic conditions for

14 Indian tribes and Native Hawaiians.

15 SEC. 3. HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT GRANTS TO

16 STATES TO DEVELOP OR UPDATE LAND USE

17 PLANNING LEGISLATION.

18 (a) GRANT PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary

19 of Housing and Urban Development shall establish a pro20 gram to provide grants to States for the purpose of assist21 ing in—

22 (1) as a first priority, the development or revi23 sion of land use planning legislation in those States

24 that have inadequate or outmoded land use planning

25 legislation;
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1 (2) the creation or revision of State comprehen2 sive land use plans or plan elements in those States

3 that have previously updated land use planning leg4 islation; and

5 (3) the development or revision of comprehen6 sive land use plans or plan elements for multi-State

7 regions.

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

9 under subsection (a), a State planning director shall sub10 mit to the Secretary an application, in such form as the

11 Secretary may require, that demonstrates to the Secretary

12 that the basic goals of the State regarding land use plan13 ning legislation are consistent with all of the following

14 guidelines:

15 (1) CITIZEN REPRESENTATION.—Citizens are

16 notified and citizen representation is required in the

17 developing, adopting, and updating of land use

18 plans.

19 (2) MULTIJURISDICTIONAL COOPERATION.—In

20 order to effectively manage the impacts of urban de21 velopment and to provide for resource sustainability,

22 land use plans are created based on multi-jurisdic23 tional governmental cooperation, when practicable,

24 particularly in the case of land use plans based on

25 watershed boundaries.
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1 (3) IMPLEMENTATION ELEMENTS.—Land use

2 plans contain an implementation element that—

3 (A) includes a timetable for action and a

4 definition of the respective roles and respon5 sibilities of agencies, local governments, and

6 citizens of the State;

7 (B) is consistent with State capital budget

8 objectives; and

9 (C) provides the framework for decisions

10 relating to the siting of future infrastructure

11 development, including development of utilities

12 and utility distribution systems.

13 (4) COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING.—There is

14 comprehensive planning to encourage land use plans

15 that—

16 (A) promote sustainable economic develop17 ment and social equity;

18 (B) enhance community character;

19 (C) coordinate transportation, housing,

20 education, and other infrastructure develop21 ment;

22 (D) conserve historic resources, scenic re23 sources, and the environment;

24 (E) sustainably manage natural resources;

25 and
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1 (F) provide for a range of housing options,

2 including provisions that promote and accom3 modate housing affordability.

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

5 updated.

6 (6) STANDARDS.—Land use plans reflect an ap7 proach that is consistent with established profes8 sional planning standards.

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

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

11 technical assistance in—

12 (1) drafting land use planning legislation;

13 (2) research and development for land use plan14 ning programs and requirements relating to the de15 velopment of State guide plans;

16 (3) conducting workshops, educating and con17 sulting policy makers, and involving citizens in the

18 planning process; and

19 (4) integrating State and regional concerns and

20 land use plans with Federal land use plans.

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

22 under subsection (a) shall not exceed $1,000,000.

23 (e) COST-SHARING.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para25 graph (2), the Federal share of a project funded
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1 with a grant under subsection (a) shall not exceed

2 90 percent.

3 (2) INCREASED FEDERAL SHARE.—The Sec4 retary may increase the Federal share in the case of

5 a grant to a tribal government or Native Hawaiian

6 organization if the Secretary finds that the tribal

7 government or Native Hawaiian organization does

8 not have sufficient funds to contribute to the

9 project.

10 (f) COORDINATION.—The Secretary shall encourage

11 Federal land management agencies to coordinate land use

12 planning for Federal land with the State planning director

13 responsible for the drafting and updating of State guide

14 plans or guidance documents regulating land use and in15 frastructure development on a statewide basis.

16 (g) AUDITS.—

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

18 the Department of Housing and Urban Development

19 shall conduct an audit of a portion of the grants

20 provided under this section to ensure that all funds

21 provided under the grants are used for the purposes

22 specified in this section.

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

24 audits conducted under paragraph (1) and any rec25 ommendations made in connection with the audits
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1 shall be taken into consideration in awarding any fu2 ture grant under this section to a State.

3 (h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

4 (1) 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 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

12 the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

13 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means any of

14 the following:

15 (A) One of the several States, the District

16 of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto

17 Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American

18 Samoa, or the Commonwealth of the Northern

19 Mariana Islands.

20 (B) A tribal government.

21 (C) A Native Hawaiian organization, as

22 defined in section 8(a)(15) of the Small Busi23 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 637(a)(15)).

24 (4) STATE PLANNING DIRECTOR.—The term

25 ‘‘State planning director’’ means the State official
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1 designated by statute or by the chief executive offi2 cer of the State whose principal responsibility is the

3 drafting and updating of State guide plans or guid4 ance documents that regulate land use and urban

5 development on a statewide basis.

6 (5) TRIBAL GOVERNMENT.—The term ‘‘tribal

7 government’’ means the tribal government of an In8 dian tribe, as defined in section 4 of the Indian Self9 Determination and Education Assistance Act (25

10 U.S.C. 450b).

11 (i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is

12 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section

13 $50,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2002 through

14 2006.

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