Plan Bay Area Enters Home Stretch

  • by BPC Staff
  • on July 8, 2013
  • 0 Comments
Plan Bay Area Enters Home Stretch
NewsPublic Policy

 

Follow us!  

Keep updated on Plan Bay Area through our social media tools. 

 

 

 

 

 Plan Bay Area Enters Home Stretch  

 

As Plan Bay Area enters the home stretch, policy makers from MTC and ABAG are considering suggested changes to the draft document based on comments received during the spring round of public outreach. Key meeting dates remaining:

  

Friday, July 12, 2013, 9:30 a.m. – MTC Planning Committee and ABAG Administrative Committee

Location: Joseph P. Bort MetroCenter, Auditorium, 101 8th Street, Oakland 

 

Staff will present revisions to the Plan and Final EIR and request referral for consideration by the full boards of the ABAG Executive Board and MTC Commission. Staff will also recommend that the Committee refer the 2013 Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) and the Air Quality Conformity Analysis on the Plan and TIP to the Commission for approval.

 

Thursday, July 18, 2013, 6:30 p.m. – Special Meeting of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and ABAG Executive Board  

Location: Oakland Marriott City Center, West Hall, 1001 Broadway, Oakland  

 

MTC and ABAG boards are scheduled to vote on the Final Plan, Final EIR, Regional Housing Need Allocation, Air Quality Conformity Analysis and Transportation Improvement Program (TIP).

 

 

Over 600 Comments Received from Agencies, Stakeholders and Individuals

 

Attendees discuss aspects of Plan Bay Area at an open house
that preceded a public hearing in Santa Rosa. (Photo by Noah Berger) 

From public agencies to stakeholders, neighborhood groups and concerned individuals, over 600 comments on the draft plan poured in by mail and email, via an online interactive Plan Bay Area Town Hall, and in person at outreach meetings in every county. 

 

A compilation and analysis of the comments, along with the results of a public opinion survey, can be viewed here.

The public comments and recommendations for revising the Plan were reviewed at meetings in June and are slated for further consideration in July, culminating in adoption of the plan, scheduled for the special joint MTC-ABAG evening meeting on July 18 (see details above).

 

 

Just What Is Plan Bay Area?

Plan Bay Area looks forward to the year 2040 and charts a course for the Bay Area’s first-ever Sustainable Communities Strategy, accommodating needed growth within our nine counties while at the same time decreasing greenhouse gas emissions from cars and light trucks.  

 

 

Grants Provide $7.5 Million for Open Space Preservation 

 

Up to $7.5 million is up for grabs through the brand-new Priority Conservation Grant Program, initiated by MTC in partnership with the California Coastal Conservancy and the Association of Bay Area Governments. The program aims to protect the Bay Area’s rural open space from development threats and to enrich the natural value of the land.

 

Proposed projects should preserve or enhance natural habitats, provide bicycle and pedestrian access, or support the agricultural economy. Act fast – letters of interest are due July 19. Note that for every $1 awarded by the Priority Conservation Grant Program, applicants are required to provide a $3 match from another source.  

 

Local governments, congestion management agencies, tribal governments, water/utility districts, resource conservation districts, park and open space districts, land trusts and other land protection nonprofits are eligible to apply. Check the MTC website for more on the program, and the Coastal Conservancy site for information on the application process and eligibility.  

 

Plan Bay Area is a joint effort led by the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) in partnership with the Bay Area’s other two regional government agencies, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD), and the Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC). For more information, visit our website.