Administration plan tackles urban sprawl across West

Before urban growth strangles Las Vegas and other rapid-growth cities in the West, Congress plans to take aim at traffic, air pollution and too much pavement, Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., has promised.

More than 200 local ballot measures in the November elections called for an end to congestion and the loss of wetlands and farmlands. The Clinton administration has adopted an idea of funding community aid through offshore oil-drilling revenues.

President Clinton has proposed a $1 billion-a-year program to outsmart growth in communities such as Las Vegas that are choked by urban sprawl, Reid said.

Included in the administration's plan is a tax incentive and grant package to help states and communities create "livable communities" and preserve open spaces.

The "Better America Bonds" initiative is part of the administration's fiscal year 2000 budget.

If Congress approves the new bonds, state, local and tribal governments could obtain zero-interest financing. Investors who buy the 15-year bonds would receive tax credits in lieu of interest.

Competitive grants would be available to help communities develop education programs, upgrade computer systems, plan land uses and exchange crime data.

Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope called the administration's plan a good first step. Americans are reacting to the impact of sprawl on their lives, he said.

"There are the obvious environmental costs of sprawl -- lost open space and natural habitats, increased air pollution from more traffic, depleted water quality caused by urban runoff," Pope said in a recent article for the Political Economic Research Center.

Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., urged Nevadans to review and comment on Clinton's proposal.

"We need all the local input on this issue that we can get at the federal level," Gibbons said.

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