| The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the National Association of Counties (NACo) recently entered a partnership agreement to work more closely on efforts to create sustainable local communities using the concepts of “smart growth” throughout the United States.
The smart growth program is already underway here in Kitsap County. In fact, the partnership between the county and the local Homebuilders Association, (HBA) is so strong that County Commissioner Tim Botkin has been conducting the smart growth committee meetings in the conference room at HBA headquarters, a place where, because of differences of political opinion on local growth issues, he wasn’t very welcome previously
Both organizations agree smart growth is the best way to address such problems as traffic congestion, crowded schools and loss of open space is to build a strong public-private partnership at the local level.
NAHB and NACo say they are working to educate and inform their members, policy makers and the general public about the importance of reforms that encourage innovative land use and comprehensive planning.
“County officials see first-hand the relationship between job growth and housing demand. They know growth can occur in ways that create thriving communities while preserving meaningful open space and environmentally sensitive areas,” said Gary Garczynski, NAHB’s first vice president and a home builder from Northern Virginia.
The partnership agreement was announced in Louisville during a recent meeting of NACo’s Large Urban County Caucus.
“NACo and NAHB strongly believe affordable housing and smart growth issues require immediate action with locally derived solutions,” said Jane Hague, president of NACo and a member of the King County, Wash., metropolitan council. “We will be working together to assure that quality housing for all Americans is an integral component of community planning.”. | 