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Q&A.

Article Excerpt
TOM MULLEN was a Riverside County supervisor from 1995 until January 2003. He was the initial proponent on the Board of Supervisors of taking a comprehensive approach to development, habitat and transportation planning. That effort eventually became known as the Riverside County Integrated Project (RCIP). This planning was a response to the county's rapid growth (the population has nearly tripled in 25 years and now stands at 1.7 million) and to forecasts that growth will continue for decades.

After more than four years of work--and after Mullen left office--supervisors adopted both the multi-species habitat conservation plan and the general plan portions of the RCIP in 2003. Work continues on the transportation plan. City representatives, developers, landowners, environmentalists and "smart growth" advocates have found things to dislike about the plans. Still, the RCIP is likely the most comprehensive planning effort ever undertaken at the local level, and, at $35 million, definitely the most expensive (see CP&DR, January 2002, February 2000).

Mullen is now president of Viresco Energy, a startup, renewable energy company. Prior to serving on the Board of Supervisors, Mullen was an aide to Democratic State Sen. Robert Presley. Mullen spoke with CP&DR Editor Paul Shigley at an office in downtown Riverside.

CP&DR What would you tell a county supervisor or a planning director considering a comprehensive approach like the RCIP? What should they know from the outset?

MULLEN The most important thing I believe that they need to know is that while there is a critical technical aspect to this ... this is really a political process. I have told our team time and again, technically we could probably have gotten through this in 36 months, probably 24 months. But it's the political process. You've got to understand that it's a political process first, last and foremost, and that the technical studies are the ones that provide the data to make ultimately those political decisions.

CP&DR Did you recognize this as...