CLINTON VISITS SYLMAR; PRESIDENT LAUDS HOUSING PROJECT TIED TO TRANSIT.Byline: Yvette Cabrera Daily News Staff Writer Showcasing a unique housing project here, President Clinton pledged more than $6 billion Monday to help the rest of the nation's builders develop more energy-efficient housing tied to mass transportation. Before a crowd of 200 people, Clinton said his aim is to accelerate the use of energy-saving technology by teaming the federal government's best researchers with the nation's building industry. ``It will be the most ambitious effort ever to help private home builders and homeowners make cost-effective, energy-saving decisions that will pay big dividends throughout the 21st century,'' said Clinton, who also attended fund-raisers in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. . The housing project that Clinton introduced will consist of 186 single-family homes, adjacent to the Sylmar/San Fernando Metrolink Station. It will be the first of two such developments in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, , the other being built next to the Metrolink station in Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. . After announcing his initiative, Clinton toured a mockup mock·up also mock-up n. 1. A usually full-sized scale model of a structure, used for demonstration, study, or testing. 2. A layout of printed matter. of a state-of-the-art home with Bob Vila Robert J. "Bob" Vila (born June 20, 1946) is an American home improvement television show host known for This Old House (1979–1989), Bob Vila's Home Again (1990–2005) and Bob Vila (2005–2007). , host of the syndicated home improvement series ``Bob Vila's Home Again.'' San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. politicians applauded Clinton's initiative for its efforts to tie housing to mass transit mass transit, public transportation systems designed to move large numbers of passengers. Types and Advantages Mass transit refers to municipal or regional public shared transportation, such as buses, streetcars, and ferries, open to all on a . ``Projects like the Village Green can help solve many problems faced in our community by easing traffic congestion The condition of a network when there is not enough bandwidth to support the current traffic load. congestion - When the offered load of a data communication path exceeds the capacity. , providing good access to public transportation and encouraging energy-efficient homes and appliances,'' said Rep. Howard Berman Howard Lawrence "Howie" Berman (born April 15 1941) has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1983, representing the 28th District of California (map). , D-Mission Hills, who could not attend the Monday morning event because of an illness in his family. San Fernando San Fernando, city, Argentina San Fernando (săn fərnăn`dō), city (1991 pop. 144,761), Buenos Aires prov., E Argentina. It is a district administrative center in the Greater Buenos Aires area. Mayor Raul Godinez said he pushed for the initiative and said such development will bring better built homes to the area. ``This development will hopefully set the standard for these type of projects in this type of town,'' said Godinez, who helped the development receive zoning approvals and building permits for the one dozen homes that will be built within the San Fernando city limits. Affordable, efficient The project, Village Green, straddles Sylmar and the city of San Fernando, and it will include homes expected to sell for an average of $155,000. They will feature such innovations as solar power, high-efficiency appliances, and windows with mineral-coated thermal panes to keep the sun's heat out in the summer and the heat in during the winter. The development will include a 27,000-square-foot community park and is designed for first-time home buyers in the northeast San Fernando Valley. Groundbreaking is set for June. What Clinton's campaign sets out to do is push innovations into the building industry. Often it takes 15 years to 25 years for local governments, consumers and builders to accept technological advances, said Larry Bush, spokesman for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, a lead agency on the initiative. ``We're sending America's builders on a crash course on how to be environmentally friendly Environmentally friendly, also referred to as nature friendly, is a term used to refer to goods and services considered to inflict minimal harm on the environment.[1] ,'' he said. Throughout this year, the program will collect information on new housing materials, components and systems and then compile the information to create a ``State of the Nation's Housing Technology'' report. In addition, the $6 billion, to be spent over 10 years, will go toward tax incentives and the creation of a Web site to show innovations and emerging technology, Bush said. With the highest home ownership rate in history and 15 million new homes expected to be built by 2010, now is the time to take action, if for no other reason than to help reverse global warming global warming, the gradual increase of the temperature of the earth's lower atmosphere as a result of the increase in greenhouse gases since the Industrial Revolution. , said Clinton. The past three years were the warmest in 600 years and emissions from homes in America account for 20 percent of total gas emissions, Clinton said. Critics Although Clinton admitted there may be critics in Washington who say the initiative is a ``great plot to wreck WRECK, mar. law. A wreck (called in law Latin, wreccum maris, and in law French, wrec de mer,) signifies such goods, as after a shipwreck, are cast upon land by the sea, and left there within some county, so as not to belong to the jurisdiction of the admiralty, but to the common law. the economy,'' he disputed this and implored Americans to ask their representatives to make a crusade out of it. ``If you think about the big, long-term challenges America faces, this is truly one and we have it within our grasp to meet the challenge in a way that would give these little babies that are in this audience a much better life in the new century,'' Clinton said. But while politicians praised the initiative, some residents who showed up to hear Clinton speak were upset after being barred from the event. `I think that it was pretty distressing because I've long been a supporter of good government and a supporter of President Clinton,'' said Estheranne Billings. Armed with her Polaroid camera Noun 1. Polaroid camera - a camera that develops and produces a positive print within seconds Polaroid Land camera camera, photographic camera - equipment for taking photographs (usually consisting of a lightproof box with a lens at one end and , Billings took three freeways from her Encino home to reach the Metrolink station where Clinton spoke. Once there, Secret Service agents laid down the law, she said. ``They said you had to have an invitation and that if I didn't do as they said that I would be arrested,'' said Billings, 71, president of the Encino Park Improvement committee. ``There was nothing you could do but mill around until the motorcade left,'' Billings said. ``It was worth it if I could have seen the president.'' CAPTION(S): Photo PHOTO (color) President Clinton, accompanied by Bob Vila, unveils his plan for energy-efficient homes Monday. Hans Gutknecht/Daily News |
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