The $100 million federal Sustainable Communities Program seeks to reward regions that coordinate land-use, transportation and fair housing and tie plans to meaningful metrics, such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions. EPA, HUD and DOT are hosting a series of listening sessions – Cleveland is one of only six cities on the national tour, on March 10 – to establish criteria for funding regional sustainable development plans. Digging into the background paper, it appears the Sustainable Communities Initiative is looking at regions that are

1) willing to work on a plan that innovates around land-transportation-housing
2) has a plan that needs implementation; or
3) leads the nation in implementation, but want to be even more awesomely sustainable.

Which category does Northeast Ohio fall into? At first blush, we appear to be in category one. Northeast Ohio is relatively behind the curve on regional planning that links sustainable land use, transportation and housing. The Euclid Corridor might be the only clear example of a “corridor transit-oriented development plan” – RTA and Midtown Cleveland have been marketing their properties in Euclid Corridor as a TOD opportunity, and their plan for a mixed-use district from E. 55th to the Cleveland Clinic but it stalled with the recession. 

This new federal program may present an opportunity for the region to finally get serious about transit-oriented development. Plans on Euclid can fit within a larger regional context –including a proposed commuter rail line that would connect from Sandusky to Lorain-Cleveland and out to Youngstown via Solon. Transit-oriented development has other potential targets– including the Cleveland lakefront station–within the state's future 3-C inter-city rail corridor.

Plenty of innovative sustainability plans are getting off the ground—ReImagining a more sustainable Greater Cleveland, the local food movement, Sustainable Cleveland 2019 and green affordable housing pilots popping up in Cleveland to name a few. The Northeast Ohio Mayor’s and City Manager’s Association plan for regional tax base sharing and land-use planning could rank in the federal program. Where are other opportunities?

• Do we have any “inter-jurisdictional affordable and fair housing strategies” in the planning stage, let alone ready for implementation?
• Can we finish what we started in the Cleveland EcoVillage?
• How about taking the pilot Ohio Lake Erie Balanced Growth Program to preserve waterways and prime open space/farmland and encourage redevelopment in existing urban areas to scale?

This is a great opportunity for Northeast Ohio to finally come up with a plan that considers more connectedness/less fragmentation, more equity, and that makes the connection between where and how we develop and the implications for regional prosperity. In the words of this program, we must “demonstrate the capacity to plan for the long-term, build broad-based coalitions in support of sustainable communities and use an array of tools to incent investment in development, land preservation, and infrastructure that implements their sustainable vision.”

Plans that will rise to the top will build a compelling story and metrics for how well and how much the region is transformed using the partnership’s Livability Principles:

• Provide more transportation choices
• Promote equitable, affordable housing (location- and energy-efficient housing)
• Enhance economic competitiveness
• Support existing communities
• Coordinate policies and leverage investment
• Value communities and neighborhoods

HUD has published an Advance Notice of Funding with a description and framework of the grant program for public comment, which must be submitted via HUD's website by March 12, 2010.