Establish a set of state development principles
Action
To make sure everyone in a state administration is focused on issues of growth and development, governors should initiate a process to articulate a broad set of development principles for their states. A shared set of development principles for the state, its regions, and localities provides a basis for determining how a state can most effectively deploy its leadership, investments, incentives, and partnerships to achieve desired development objectives. The development principles should be rooted in a state development vision. The principles will help add predictability to the development process by sending a signal to the private sector and local governments regarding the type of development patterns that the state will support.
Process
Development principles should articulate the development pattern the administration envisions and will support through investments, capital spending, and permitting actions. A state should articulate specific development principles with the expectation that local governments and the development community will support and implement programs based on those principles. The principles can be initially developed by a state Office of Smart Growth, Growth Sub-Cabinet, or comparable office or cabinet group as part of a collaborative and interagency process. To gain credibility and acceptance, the principles must incorporate input from the public through a comprehensive statewide visioning or related outreach campaign. Once developed, these principles could be issued via executive order or codified in state statute that requires all state agencies to incorporate the development principles into their program planning, spending and permitting decisions.
A communications campaign should reinforce the principles (see Policy #5, Develop a communications campaign, in this section). Model developments and policy actions should be used to exemplify the principles. This will not only define and clarify the development principles, but also illustrate progress and motivate additional communities and developers to pursue the goals outlined in the development principles.
Example
- Pennsylvania's Keystone Principles
In 2005 Pennsylvania adopted a series of development principles known as the Keystone Principles for Growth, Investment, and Resource Conservation. They are intended to help coordinate and guide the investment and funding decisions of state agencies. In addition to the 10 principles, the state also developed "core criteria" and "preferential criteria" to aid agencies in integrating the principles into their decision-making process. The principles were developed over a two-year period by a state interagency working group.
— Pennsylvania's Keystone Principles
