A Giant Step Backward

Suburbs keep sprawling, highways keep gobbling up land, vacation resorts keep paving over waterfront acreage, often with no respect for the best long-term use of land. Last year President Nixon called the misuse of land "perhaps the most pressing environmental issue before the nation" and urged Congress to do something about it. The Senate already had passed a bill to encourage states to plan exactly where land-development projects should or should not go. Arizona Democrat Morris Udall introduced a similar bill in the House. But last week, in a 211-to-204 procedural vote, the House refused even to debate the subject, virtually ending any chance of land-use legislation this year.

Many powerful conservative and special-interest groups lobbied hard against land planning. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce called the bill a worrisome manifestation of "no growth" philosophy. Timber, real estate and home-building officials feared that it would restrict their business. Right-wing organizations, including the John Birch Society, claimed that the legislation would amount to "confiscation of property without compensation."

While some Congressmen were swayed by such arguments, others simply followed the White House's leadership. In a startling turnabout, the Nixon Administration first eased its stand for a strong land-use measure and then last week apparently withdrew support for any legislation. The President desperately needs solid conservative backing in his struggle to stay in office. The White House reversal on land use, said Udall, reflected straight "impeachment politics."

Udall's bill was in fact a moderate measure. It left all planning decisions to the individual states, merely providing them with $100 million in annual federal grants for eight years to develop comprehensive planning programs. While it did set out federal criteria to guide the planning process, the bill did not impose penalties for states that chose not to plan ahead. "The idea was not to stop growth," said Udall, "but to give it vision and direction." By dodging critical land-use problems, the House and the White House have taken a giant step backward.

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