One example of a broad-based approach to developing a regional vision - and that has great relevance for other high growth areas around the state - is the effort currently being undertaken by a diverse coalition known as the Fresno Growth Alternatives Alliance. Comprised of the Fresno Chamber of Commerce, the Fresno County Farm Bureau, the Building Industry Association of the San Joaquin Valley, the American Farmland Trust and the Fresno Business Council, the Alliance took it upon themselves to craft a common agenda and a vision for where Fresno County should be heading in the next 30 years when facing a possible tripling of its population and an ever-increasing strain on its valuable agricultural resources.

The process of producing the report itself represents a landmark attempt to bring together interests who have been seen as traditionally benefiting from low-density suburban sprawl in order to clarify common ground and begin to see the problem as a choice between many different models of development, rather than simply "no growth" vs. "pro growth." Indeed, the authors conclude that it isn't simply population increase that is the biggest drain on both natural and financial resources:

"Over the years, it has become apparent that growth patterns actually play a more important role in causing urban sprawl than population growth itself. Replacing urban sprawl with more efficient patterns of growth on the urban edge and directing growth inward through infill development and neighborhood revitalization can accommodate the same number of people on much less land. Controlling or changing population trends is nearly impossible; but it may be possible to change patterns of growth, especially if a grassroots consensus for better land use planning can be developed among local stakeholders and decision makers."

Among the agreed-upon recommendations of the Alliance, published in its 1998 report entitled "A Landscape of Choice: Strategies for Improving Patterns of Community Growth," were:

• provide incentives for compact growth which provide for amenities such as bike paths and neighborhood parks as densities increase;
• preserve and enhance existing pedestrian and transit-oriented neighborhoods;
• create mixed use zone districts that encourage residential, commercial and office use on the same site
• encourage an orderly outward expansion of new urban development while providing for new towns that create new patterns of compact growth
• create a forum in which regional land use planning can be achieved.