Case Study
Smart Growth Leadership Institute Audit
The Smart Growth Leadership Institute, a project of Smart Growth America, was created by former Maryland Governor Parris N. Glendening to help state and local elected, civic and business leaders design and implement effective smart growth strategies.
Communities across the nation applied for the program assistance paid for through a grant from the United States Environmental Protection Agency and offered by the Smart Growth Leadership Institute and a team of experts from the University of Southern California and the University of Colorado.
APPROACH
In 2004, the Smart Growth Leadership Institute and University of Southern California selected Baton Rouge as one of nine cities in the nation to receive an in-kind audit. The audit examined East Baton Rouge Parish’s comprehensive plan, the Horizon Plan, to assess if this vision document promotes Smart Growth principles. The audit further assessed whether the legal ordinances contained in the East Baton Rouge Parish Unified Development Code enable the parish to its Horizon Plan vision.
PLANNING
The Smart Growth Leadership Institute completed the Policy and Code Audit Report for East Baton Rouge Parish and the City of Baton Rouge in August of 2004. The following are recommendations from the SGLI report that the Audit Committee has identified as priorities for Baton Rouge:
• Promote Efficient and Fiscally Sound Infrastructure Planning and Implementation
• Encourage Infill Development
• Improve Street Standards & Design
With the recommendations of the audit, Baton Rouge is underway with revisions to the current codes to include new standards for development and new tools for encouraging Smart Growth. The full Policy and Code Audit Report can be found at www.planbr.org.
