SACRAMENTO -- First it was the booming counties of California's Inland Empire. Now Attorney General Jerry Brown is eyeing stagnant San Diego's recent growth plan as part of his home-state mission on greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions.

Brown wants local and regional development plans to conform to a California law passed last year mandating that state entities aim to significantly reduce GHG outputs. GHGs are a considered a key factor in climate change, currently a hot California topic.

Assemby Bill 32 - California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 - mandates that state entities aim to lower their GHG output to 1990 levels by 2020. On-going compliance with the Act is to be regulated by the State Air Resources Board.

Brown's office fired San Diego a GHG warning shot last month with a June 11 letter from Deputy Attorney General Sandra Goldberg urging the city to adopt a broader range of GHG mitigation strategies. But some locals say such excessive regulation could force businesses out, reports Voice of San Diego's Rob Davis.

Earlier this year Brown signaled his intent to use the Act as a lever to force changes in local development blueprints. He sued San Bernardino County, California's largest and fastest growing, in April to force changes in its General Plan aimed at reducing the county's future GHG emissions further.

Brown had previously requested that other municipalities in nearby counties make adjustements in their growth plans for reduing GHG emissions in future.*

But the city of San Diego is going the other way, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures quoted recently by the San Diego Union Tribune. Its population has stayed stagnant in recent years and lost 377 people in 2005-06, while surrounding counties have kept growing steadily.

That has led local advocates to fear the negative impact of Brown's suggested mandates on enterprises located in San Diego. Some, like the local Building Officers and Managers Association, want an incentive-based plan linking residential density to building "green-ness."

Nonetheless, Brown's office has lots of suggestions on how San Diego's growth plan could also cut GHGs, Davis reported. They include requiring all new housing developments to install solar panels and forcing apartment-dwellers and business to recycle their waste.

High housing prices have driven residents out of San Diego city, although San Diego County cities are still gaining population, the Union Tribune noted.

* original copy corrected