On October 28th 2011, the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) approved the first sustainable communities strategy (SCS) under Senate Bill 375. A new report(pdf), San Diego and SB 375: Lessons from California’s First Sustainable Communities Strategy, co-authored by Eliot Rose, Autumn Bernstein, and Stuart Cohen raises several key issues for consideration in regional planning and current limitations of transportation funding structures.
SB 375 in itself is not a silver bullet for the creation of sustainable communities across California; however, as Regional Transportation Plans (RTPs) are being updated with Sustainable Communities Strategies (SCSs), long standing issues with federal and state regulatory barriers and local implementation challenges will become increasingly apparent. Policy in Motion would like to emphasize the need to question the definition of “SB 375 Success” in terms of how the process in itself is laying the foundation for the State’s next evolution of legislation and reforms to funding structures, environmental review, and land use/transportation planning. As in any process, success is a moving and growing target toward a greater vision, and continual progress along that journey is a necessary component requiring evaluation – meaning that no matter what a plan outlines today there needs to be a mechanism in place to monitor the impacts from the land use and transportation strategies laid out those plans, and some form of consistency in monitoring outcomes to ensure performance measurement objectives are being evaluated. State leadership providing clear guidance, expectations, resources, and communication will be integral for MPO success in the SB 375 journey.
Applied Solutions Webinar: 2012 Federal Sustainability Policy and Funding Outlook
Date: December 8, 2011
Time: 9am Pacific/Noon Eastern
In 2011, local governments have seen concerted efforts in the U.S. House of Representatives to slash and cut important federal sustainability programs that benefit cities and counties. In efforts toward deficit reduction, Congress has sought to eliminate funding for renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean vehicles, smart growth, green infrastructure and more. This federal investment is critical to local efforts to reduce energy use, curb greenhouse gas emissions, improve air and water quality and decrease vehicle miles traveled. As communities have demonstrated, federal sustainability funding enables cities and counties to leverage additional public and private dollars, and helps to create new jobs and economic growth.
As local governments prepare for 2012, several key questions should be asked:
What types of federal sustainability funding will be available, and how can localities prepare to be competitive?
What types of technical assistance will be available from EPA, DOE, DOT and other federal agencies?
What federal sustainability policies are likely to be debated in Congress, and how will they impact cities and counties?
This webinar will last approximately one hour, and there is no cost to participate.
Speakers include:
Supervisor Valerie Brown, Sonoma County, California
Supervisor Brown will discuss the value of a local government voice at the federal level.
Michelle Wyman, Executive Director of Applied Solutions
Ms. Wyman will give an introduction to the Applied Solutions Webinar Series.
Andrew Seth and Matt Ward, Climate Communities
Mr. Seth and Mr. Ward will identify opportunities for cities and counties to support local priorities with federal sustainability funding next year, and provide an overview of the federal sustainability policy landscape in 2012.
The Sustainable Communities Learning Network is a service for local officials offered by the Institute for Local Government in partnership with the Information Center for the Environment at the University of California, Davis, with support from the Strategic Growth Council and The California Endowment.
Please Join Assemblymember Rich Gordon for a Briefing On LEED/LEED-ND and Smart Growth
Date: Wednesday, December 7th, 2011
Time: 12:00pm-1:30pm
Location: State Capitol, Room 127
Feel free to bring your own lunch while you learn about successful and sustainable development in our State. We’ll bring you information on the basics of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system, LEED Neighborhood Development (ND) and current case study projects and creative uses of LEED-ND standards in legislation and policy. We will then talk about how LEED-ND can be a helpful tool for cities, regions, and the State to get us to reaching the goals of SB 375 and AB 32.
RSVP TO: Rachael O’Brien at rachael@ecoconsult.biz or 916-996-8470
Guest Speakers:
 Aaron Welch, Senior Planner, LEED AP, Raimi AssociatesAaron Welch is one of the nation’s leading LEED-ND experts. Aaron has managed the LEED-ND process for a total of 6 different development projects that are either certified or in the process of certification, wrote portions of USGBC’s LEED-ND Reference Guide, has developed and delivered LEED-ND education for USGBC, and recently completed a Citizen’s (Advocacy) Guide to LEED-ND for the Natural Resources Defense Council. Aaron has contributed to a wide variety of general plans, neighborhood plans, vision plans, and transit-oriented development.
Ellie Casson, Campaign Organizer, Greenbelt AllianceEllie Casson is an SB 375 expert for Greenbelt Alliance. She works closely with cities throughout Silicon Valley and is the Founder of a Mountain View smart-growth advocacy group that has had a visible impact on local planning and development decisions (this group that now has 300+ members). She is also the lead researcher and author of Greenbelt Alliance’s Greening Your City’s Blueprint: A Toolkit for Climate Friendly General Plans. Ellie is currently organizing support for the Grand Boulevard Initiative, which re-envisions El Camino Real as a people-friendly, more complete corridor.
Sponsored By: USGBC California Advocacy Council and USGBC Capitol Branch
The Sacramento Chapters of the American Planning Association Young Planner’s Group, together with the American Society of Landscape Architect’s Emerging Professional’s Group, is co-hosting an informative event exploring how recent transportation policy has transformed our professions. Lauren Michele, a young professional herself, principal, and owner of Policy in Motion will be the guest speaker. Ms. Michele collaborates with government agencies and varied stakeholders at the local, state, and federal levels to craft and implement transportation plans and regulatory frameworks that work toward community sustainability and people-oriented development. She recently published a book, Policy in Motion: Transportation Planning in California after AB 32, examining California’s planning initiatives post-AB 32 and in light of SB 375 and explores policy, politics, and changes to state law that can help to achieve sustainable communities and transportation systems.Date/Time: Thursday, December 1, 5:30-7:30pm
Location: American Institute of Architects Central Valley1400 ‘S’ Street Sacramento, CA
Agenda:
5:30-6:00pm – Social with refreshments and book signing
6:00-7:00pm – Interactive presentation by Lauren Michele
7:00-7:30pm – Q&A/group discussion
Let us know you’re coming, please RSVP to Tracey Ferguson, YPG Chair at ypg@sacvalley-apa.orgCost: FREE EVENT
About the Author….Since the passage of California’s Global Warming Solutions Act in 2006 (AB 32), Lauren Michele, Principal and Owner of Policy in Motion, has worked with government agencies and varied stakeholders from the local to federal level on crafting and implementing transportation plans and regulatory frameworks which work toward community sustainability and people-oriented development. A graduate of the UC Davis Institute of Transportation Studies, Ms. Michele’s research and strategic analyses have been utilized by the Federal Highway Administration; State of California Department of Transportation, Air Resources Board, Energy Commission, Strategic Growth Council, Governor’s Office of Planning and Research; as well as regional and local transportation planning agencies developing integrated land use and transportation sustainability plans.
On behalf of the Strategic Growth Council (SGC), the Department of Conservation manages competitive grants to cities, counties, and designated regional agencies to promote sustainable community planning and natural resource conservation. The grant program supports development, adoption, and implementation of various planning elements. The Sustainable Communities Planning Grant Program offers a unique opportunity to improve and sustain the wise use of infrastructure and natural resources through a coordinated and collaborative approach.
2011 REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS
The Department of Conservation (DOC), Division of Land Resource Protection (DLRP), Planning Grant and Incentive Program has released the round two Sustainable Communities Planning Grant Request for Proposals (RFP) funded through the Safe Drinking Water, Water Quality and Supply, Flood Control, River and Coastal Protection Act of 2006 (Proposition 84). DOC has allocated approximately $18 million of Proposition 84 funds for round two. The funds awarded will support development, adoption, and implementation of Sustainable Community planning elements throughout the State, including, but not limited to, Climate Action Plans and General Plan amendments. The grants awarded from this solicitation will cover up to a three-year project period. Grant requests for amounts from $100,000 to $1,000,000 will be considered.
APPLICATION PROCESS
DOC is utilizing the State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) Financial Assistance Application Submittal Tool (FAAST) system to facilitate the application and review process, and to conserve paper. All applicants submitting proposals for funding through this grant must submit a complete electronic application using the FAAST system, by 5:00 P.M. on Wednesday, FEBRUARY 15, 2012. Late applications will not be accepted.
For technical questions about the State Water Board’s FAAST application, please contact FAAST staff by phone at (866) 434-1083, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., or by email at faast_admin@waterboards.ca.gov
For questions regarding this grant solicitation, please contact the DOC Planning Grant and Incentive Program staff by phone at (916) 322-3439, Monday through Friday, between 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., or by email: SGCSustainableCommunities@conservation.ca.gov.
RFP WORKSHOPS
The DOC Planning Grant and Incentive Program Staff will hold workshops around the state in early 2012, with dates, times and locations to be announced.
HISTORY OF THE SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES PLANNING GRANT AND INCENTIVE PROGRAM
Regional Planning and Sustainable Communities Strategies: The Road So Far
SB 375 has been hailed as a new standard in planning for transportation, housing, land use and climate change mitigation. Get up-to-speed on this significant legislation with this “just the facts” approach to the implementation and application of the law, including how SB 375 was integrated into the Housing Element Law and CEQA, and the potential impacts this will have on local government and other state policy. Review the different strategies being developed by metropolitan planning organizations to achieve statewide greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and the implications they have for land use and resource management planning. Examine the availability of implementation resources; and how traffic, economic and demographic data will be used to measure strategy effectiveness.
Instructor(s):
Bill Higgins, J.D., serves as the executive director for the California Association of Councils of Government, a statewide membership organization of councils of government and transportation planning agencies. Previously, he was a senior staff attorney and legislative advocate for the League of California Cities where he represented the League on issues relating to housing, land use and eminent domain.
Lauren Michele, M.S., will be contributing as a guest lecturer on “SB 375 Lessons Learned” where she will be providing an overview of the challenges and successes California has seen during its multi-staged SB 375 process. She will discuss this in the context of what has led up to SB 375, how legislative developments in other western states highlight California’s efforts, and why groundwork today sets the stage for future progress.
10% discount for organizations enrolling three or more people at the same time in the same course. All registrations must be submitted at the same time and fees paid with one check, credit card or purchase order.
10% discount for BIA Member
The Strategic Growth Council will meet tomorrow, November 2, 2011, from 2-5 pm (note new start time) at the Natural Resources Building. Details and agenda are below.
Agenda Highlights:
Formal opening of Round 2 of the Sustainable Community Planning Grants and Incentives Program
Health in All Policies Initiative: Urban Greening and Health Equity implementation plans
Discussion of the SGC’s Strategic Planning process
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – The California High-Speed Rail Authority today released a new business plan that lays the foundation for an economically viable high speed rail system that will create 100,000 jobs in the next five years, and is expected to generate another 1 million jobs moving forward. California’s high speed rail system, the first in the nation, is also expected to reduce carbon emissions by 3 million tons annually.
The new business plan describes a phased approach to construction that will allow the Authority to adapt to changing financial conditions as it moves forward, segment by segment. The plan also updates cost estimates, ridership figures and funding expectations to reflect current economic realities. The result is a fiscally sound project that will attract and drive private investment, generate strong revenues and operate without any public subsidies, just as other high speed rail networks do throughout the world.
“We have carefully constructed a business plan that is mindful of the economic and budgetary constraints facing both the state and the nation,” said Authority Board Chairman Thomas J. Umberg. “It will deliver to California and Californians a cost-effective, efficient, and sensible alternative to more highways and increased airport congestion.”
As the state’s population grows from 38 million people today to 60 million people by mid-century, it is estimated that without high speed rail California will need as much as $171 billion to meet its transportation needs. That means an additional 2,300 lane-miles of highways, 4 runways, and 115 airline gates will need to be built.
California’s high speed rail system will also be better for the environment than auto and air travel. The system is expected to reduce carbon emissions by more than 3 million tons annually and save Californians 146 million hours in travel time each year.
Construction will begin next year with a 130-mile segment stretching from just north of Bakersfield to just south of Merced. The funding for this piece, which will serve as the “backbone” of the system, has already been identified through federal funds and the voter-approved Proposition 1A. This initial Central Valley section is expected to create 100,000 jobs in the next five years.
Board members, including new gubernatorial appointees Dan Richard and Mike Rossi, brought a seasoned business perspective to developing the plan, which outlines the future of the largest infrastructure project underway in the United States.
“Our role was to incorporate a business perspective into the plan to prove that it is financially viable,” Richard said. “What we present today is the culmination of a lot of sweat and hard work to ensure that taxpayers are getting the best bang for the buck.”
“After conducting an in-depth analysis I am convinced that this is an open and balanced business plan,” said Rossi. “This is a current, realistic and transparent plan and identifies the funds and financing necessary to implement high-speed rail in California.”
Authority Board Member Jim Hartnett praised the plan as “a new direction, reflecting community input, focusing on the concerns of local and regional rail systems as a partner in a blended approach.”
“Taking advantage of existing infrastructure will be cost-effective and reflect the coordination needed to implement this critically important infrastructure project,” Hartnett said.
Each segment of the construction project will have its own value and independent utility, and depending upon the availability of funding, each segment will complement the previous one while augmenting existing local and regional rail networks in a cooperative and coordinated fashion. Regional rail systems in Los Angeles and San Francisco have been receptive to the idea of blending existing services with the new system.
Additionally, no public operating subsidy will be necessary for the rail system. Like successful systems around the world, California’s high speed rail system will initially be built with public sector funds and when the system is operational ridership will drive revenues that, in turn, will attract further private-sector investment.
To protect the taxpayers’ investment, the economic assumptions including inflation, cost of materials and ridership projections, included in this plan are realistic and conservative. The ridership projections have been rigorously tested by a peer-review panel of international experts.
High-speed rail officials were accompanied in releasing the new Business Plan by transportations stakeholders, including ACE Executive Director Stacey Mortensen and Mike Scanlon, who leads the San Mateo County Transit District (SamTrans), Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board, which owns and manages Caltrain, and the San Mateo County Transportation Authority.
The new business plan is available online on the High-Speed Rail Authority’s website. The public will have 60 days to comment and help shape the final plan, which will be completed and provided to the Legislature in January 2012.
Marking the first of California’s MPOs to release an RTP Update in a post SB-375 world, the SANDAG Board of Directors adopted the 2050 Regional Transportation Plan and Sustainable Communities Strategy on Friday. The Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS) is a new element of the 2050 Regional Transportation Plan (RTP), as required by Senate Bill 375 (SB 375). SB 375 requires that Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO) prepare a SCS as a new element of their RTPs, along with the traditional policy, action, and financial requirements.
Below is a summary and commentary from PublicCEO’s Dan Oney and NRDC’s Amanda Eakin.
SANDAG Adopts 2050 Regional Transportation Plan and Sustainable Communities Strategy
On Friday, the SANDAG Board of Directors adopted the 2050 Regional Plan and Sustainable Communities Strategy. The plans, which came after two years of research, revision, and public comment, represents the region’s balanced vision for the evolution of the San Diego area transportation system over the next 40 years.
“This RTP takes a balanced approach,” SANDAG Board Chair and Encinitas Deputy Mayor Jerome Stocks said. “It provides more transportation choices with an integrated system, it protects our environment, and it responsibly invests taxpayer funds.”
The 2050 RTP lays out a plan for investing an estimated $214 billion in local, state, and federal transportation funds expected to come into the region over the next 40 years.
The largest proportion of the funds will go toward transit, which will receive 36 percent of the funds in the first 10 years, with 34 percent going to highway improvements (largely for the addition of high occupancy vehicle lanes to existing freeway corridors), and 21 percent to local roads and streets. The percentage dedicated to transit will grow each decade, up to 44 percent from 2021 to 2030, 47 percent in the third decade, and 57 percent in the last decade of the plan.
Along with the 2050 RTP, the Board adopted the Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS). The SCS details how the region will reduce greenhouse gas emissions to state-mandated levels over time. The inclusion of the SCS is required by Senate Bill 375, and the San Diego region is the first in California to produce a regional transportation plan with an SCS.
The Board also adopted the Environmental Impact Report for the 2050 RTP and SCS. And the Board adopted the final Regional Housing Needs Assessment Plan.
The 2050 RTP calls for increasing transportation choices in the region through an integrated system, including vast improvements to transit and a transformed highway system that includes 130 miles of Express Lanes to accommodate carpooling, vanpooling, and transit. This new system also will:
Provide 156 new miles of trolley service
Expand and speed up COASTER service in the North Coast Corridor
Double transit service miles and increase frequency in key corridors
Dedicate $3.8 billion for regional and local bicycle and pedestrian projects
Create new carpool and telework incentive programs to reduce solo driving
The plan also preserves our natural resources and promotes smart growth. It will:
Meet state greenhouse gas reduction targets
Preserve more than half of our land as open space, parkland and habitat
Accommodate housing to meet projected population growth in San Diego County
And it maximizes investments to meet the funding challenges faced by the region as we work to accomplish our many goals. The plan:
Stimulates $4.4 billion annually in projected regional economic output
Creates 35,600 jobs per year in the San Diego region
Calls for equitable distribution of investments throughout the region
San Diego Adopts Nation’s First Sustainable Communities Strategy
Today the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) voted 14 – 1 to adopt the first Sustainable Communities Strategy to implement SB 375 in California. After hours of public testimony and debate, SANDAG Chairman Jerome Stocks summarized his thoughts on the day, and called for the vote.
“We are the first in the state, the nation, and possibly the world to adopt a Sustainable Communities Strategy, and that does matter.”
Since this summer, NRDC has been working with SANDAG to recommend improvements to the plan, and we are pleased to see that some of our recommendations have been incorporated into the final plan, and grateful to staff for their willingness to work with us, particularly at this late date. In particular, we are pleased to see SANDAG commit to adopt an early action measure for active transportation by next summer, to develop a transit-oriented development policy to ensure its $53 billion investment in transit leads to strong ridership gains, and to develop a complete streets policy. We also appreciate SANDAG’s commitment to evaluating alternative land use scenarios through its upcoming Regional Comprehensive Plan.
But we need a clear commitment from SANDAG that these scenarios will be integratedland use and transportation scenarios which will re-assess SANDAG’s transportation network– as the Air Resources Board itself has recommended–in order to reverse the backsliding in the out years of the plan.
As co-sponsor and drafter of SB 375, NRDC never once imagined that a region would be considered to have met its targets if the GHG reductions were temporary and eroded over time. AB 32 calls for permanent reductions. SB 375 implements AB 32. We are pleased to hear Boardmember Heebner commend staff for their commitment to “address and reverse the backsliding”, as well as invite us all to keep SANDAG honest in the months and years to come. We will honor this request and ensure that through the Regional Comprehensive Plan and next Regional Transportation Plan, that SANDAG finds a way to make sure these critical pollution reduction gains are permanent. We also hereby commit to working with SANDAG to secure the necessary transit funding to make this goal a reality.
Following quickly on the heels of adoption of this plan, the Southern California Association of Governments, SANDAG’s neighbor to the north, will consider a preferred scenario for their SB 375 plan next Thursday November 3rd at 10:30 am. Stay tuned.
Join us for upcoming workshops in Sacramento, Los Angeles, and on the Web to help shape California’s future transportation system!
Caltrans is sponsoring workshops to gather early input from state, regional, and local agency staff and interest groups on the development of the California Interregional Blueprint. The California Interregional Blueprint will measure the effectiveness of the State’s and our regional partners’ plans to increase mobility, lower greenhouse gases, and create more sustainable communities.
Workshops will be hosted in Sacramento and Los Angeles, and feature informational presentations, large group discussions and interactive, real-time, electronic polling (allowing instant feedback). Workshops will also be simulcast on the Internet, allowing both in-person and webcast participants to participate in interactive polling exercises. (Please note: If you intend to participate via webcast, you will need a computer with a high-speed Internet connection and speakers.)
Register for the workshops by clicking on the button below:
After registering, you’ll receive a confirmation email with directions to the workshop. If you have questions, please contact Caroline Leary, Cambridge Systematics, at Cleary@camsys.com or via phone at (510) 879-4350 or 711 (TTY). For physical accommodations or other assistance, please contact Caroline as soon as possible but no later than two working days prior to the workshop you plan to attend.
SACRAMENTO
Friday, November 4, 2011
9:00 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Sacramento Convention Center, Room 202
1400 J Street
Sacramento, California 95814
LOS ANGELES
Tuesday, November 8, 2011
1:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Caltrans District 7 Office, Room 01.040 A, B, C
100 S. Main Street
Los Angeles, California 90012
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