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FAC President Teresa Jacobs Meets with DCA Secretary Tom Pelham
Last week, FAC President Commissioner Teresa Jacobs had the opportunity to meet with Department of Community Affairs (DCA) Secretary Tom Pelham to discuss that agency's proposals for the upcoming legislative session. According to Jacobs, Secretary Pelham's legislative interests center primarily on reducing urban sprawl, strengthening rural planning requirements, and expediting reviews for affordable housing initiatives. President Jacobs used the meeting as an opportunity to not only provide some general comments on DCA's initiatives but also discuss FAC's legislative priorities on growth management, emphasizing that infrastructure funding remains one of the most important issues to our members. Since being appointed Secretary in January 2007, Pelham has be a vocal advocate for growth management reform, arguing that traditional methods for implementing transportation concurrency have actually lead to undesirable growth patterns and urban sprawl. In his efforts to develop new planning processes, Secretary Pelham has consistently reached out to FAC, asking its members for new approaches to these challenging issues, while encouraging feedback on his agency's own proposals.