National League of Cities (NLC), Washington, D. C.

PREAMBLE: Local governments have a critical role to play in the creation of a sustainable future. As the governmental bodies closest to the people, local governments are best able to represent the views of their citizens and develop the trust required in promoting the implementation tools of a comprehensive sustainable community development agenda.

The nation’s finite physical and financial resources demand that the concept of sustainability guide community development activities to prevent draining limited resources to meet today’s needs at the expense of future generations. Not only for the sake of economic, social, environmental, and physical vitality of communities, but also for the sake of meeting national sustainable development goals, the federal government in cooperation with state and local governments, should work to promote the following objectives in all policies and programs:

WHEREAS, Short-term economic, environmental, and social needs, while often conflicting and competing, must be balanced with the long-term community vision and comprehensive/strategic plans;

WHEREAS, Each community’s growth management and development plans must meet the needs of the present without compromising the needs of the future generations;

WHEREAS, Land development and use must permit appropriate integration of living, working, shopping, transportation, communications, and recreational activities with highly desirable but limited educational, physical and natural resources;

WHEREAS, Strong appreciation for sustainability must be incorporated in the community and economic development as well as housing policy and program implementaation plans;

WHEREAS, Encouragement must be provided to support those transportation policies that enhance and improve the quality of the environment through air, water, noise, solid waste and visual pollution control;

WHEREAS, The federal government must provide necessary technical, financial and management tools/resources to the local communities in the accomplishment of sustainable development, since the nation can only be sustainable if individual cities and towns are sustainable (think globally, act locally); and

WHEREAS, A teamwork approach to sustainable development must become the cornerstone of public/private partnership involving governments at all levels, businesses, educational institutions, non-profit organizations, private industries and public-at-large, benefiting all sectors of the economy.

NOW, THEREFORE, be it resolved, that the National League of Cities (NLC), through its National Municipal Policy, commits to actively promoting Sustainable Community Development in cooperation with federal, state and county governments, as we enter into the 21^st century.