The Smart Growth Alliance recognizes that, within targeted growth areas around the country, there exists a range of barriers to smart growth development, including public opposition, site constraints, infrastructure deficits, regulatory hurdles, and financing complications. In an effort to overcome these development barriers, communities are revising regulations and instituting incentives to make smart growth projects easier to develop.

A number of communities in the Washington region also are contemplating or have begun similar efforts. The SGA has undertaken to examine these efforts in order to gain a broader understanding of the incentives that stimulate smart growth, the barriers that impede smart growth, and the opportunities to encourage better practices both in these communities and elsewhere in the region.

The SGA sponsored a two-day ULI Advisory Services workshop involving a panel of national experts in real estate, land use planning, and transit-oriented development (TOD). These experts addressed issues raised through the background research and questions posed by the selected jurisdictions regarding their efforts to encourage TOD. After touring TOD projects in each jurisdiction, meeting with community representatives, and deliberating among themselves to reach consensus, the panelists presented their recommendations to the jurisdictions, the SGA and other stakeholders at the conclusion of the workshop. This report presents the panel’s findings in written form.

View the Barriers and
Incentives to TOD Report

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