SB 44: Linking air quality and local land use planning

Urban sprawl and other poor land use decisions have a major negative impact on air quality. The San Joaquin Valley regional air district recently adopted an innovative rule that requires developers to reduce air pollutant emissions expected from their large projects. SB 44 (Kehoe) would have required cities and counties to add an air quality element to their general plan in order to make land use decisions take into account their impacts on air quality.