Quality of Life

By Tom Butt

Quality of life issues are what make people and businesses want to move to Richmond and stay in Richmond. They create that essential sense of community and community pride and they contribute to people's health and happiness.

Richmond's new General Plan 2030 incorporates quality of life issues in a big way. There is evidence that businesses are both growing in Richmond and moving to Richmond because of the direction they see the city going.

The way cities are planned and the way they grow affects our health, our safety and our state of mind. Good urban design is not a luxury; it is, like healthcare, something we all deserve and must have.

As an architect, I know that the built environment profoundly affects people. For example, school children learn better in classrooms with natural light than they do in classrooms with artificial light. The design of cities for car dependence is a significant cause of the upward spiraling obesity and diabetes trend, especially in children. Access to fresh, outside air in buildings makes people healthier and reduces absenteeism at work and at school.

Since 1995, I have been a member of a statewide organization of local elected officials, the Local Government Commission, which is dedicated to building livable communities. I serve on the board of directors of the Local Governent Commission, which I chaired for four years. I also serve on the League of California Cities Environmental Quality Policy Committee.

How you get to work, to school, to recreation and to shopping determines how much you spend on transportation, how much time you spend getting there and whether or not your journey is one that contributes to your health and that of your children. A successful and healthy City must provide a diversity of jobs, housing and economic opportunities for its residents. See http://www.smartgrowthamerica.org and http://www.policylink.org/default.html.

All of these also determine the carbon footprint of a city and whether we are part of the problem of climate change or part of the solution. As Richmond grows, it deserves nothing short of the best. I not only understand what constitutes quality development; I am committed to see that we get it.

The most bitter and emotional battles in Richmond are fought over land use. The City Council approved the General Plan 2038 and will later approve a new Zoning Ordinance to implement it. The City Council is often the last stop for development projects that are appealed from the Planning Commission or Design Review Board. Will we conserve our precious shoreline for future generations, or will we squander it up for cheap housing and industrial development?

For the 17 years I have served on the City Council, my detractors --the Chamber of Commerce, industry and developers --have characterized me as anti-business and anti-growth. They have done this because I will not allow sub-standard and poorly designed development in our city, and I know the difference between good and bad. For a person disparaged as anti-growth, it is ironic that I make my living based on growth -- if there is nothing built, I am out of a job. I am also the only business person on the Richmond City Council; I have to make a payroll for 30 persons every two weeks. Why would I be anti-business?