Legislators Seek Solutions to Costly Sprawl.

The cost of traffic congestion--or gridlock--has been estimated to be more than $75 billion a year in lost time and wasted fuel, in addition to increased driver aggravation and air pollution.

As residential development is forced farther away from office space and retail outlets, traveling distances increase, resulting in greater congestion and poorer air quality.

Even developers are beginning to realize that sprawl may deprive them of a qualified labor force in close proximity to job centers. So what can a lawmaker do to solve this tangle?

"Smart growth" legislation, as exemplified in Maryland, can change the pattern of development by forcing local governments to follow their own rules.

Maryland's legislation involves no new regulations, only an insistence that local governments and private investors locate projects in areas that have the necessary infrastructure (e.g., highways, roads, freeways, bridges, drinking water, sewer systems, etc.). These facilities can be planned or in place as development occurs. The state effectively leverages its financial assistance--both economic development aid and funds for the infrastructure--to ensure that growth occurs where it is most likely to be sustained.

"What's intriguing is that growth management, traditionally regarded as a 'liberal' cause of environmentalists and other softhearted people, suddenly turns into a measure of conservative cost cutting," says syndicated columnist Neal R. Peirce of the Maryland law.

What can smart growth legislation, like that in Maryland, do?

"It saves a lot of money, for one thing. It encourages redevelopment and it protects the environment," notes Minnesota Representative Myron Orfield.

Maryland isn't the only state addressing the traffic and sprawl dilemma. Other states--such as Georgia, Florida, Arizona and Tennessee--have also adopted several new approaches to combat sprawl:

* The Georgia General Assembly created the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority in 1999 after the Environmental Protection Agency decided to withhold federal highway funds because metropolitan Atlanta was violating clean air standards. The new 15-member authority can plan, construct and operate public transportation facilities in the 13-county area; issue $1 billion in revenue bonds to finance a public transportation system; and deny permits for developments that overburden existing transportation systems.

* The Florida Legislature passed the Urban Infill and Redevelopment Act in 1999...