On Friday, March 11, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Association of Bay Area Governments presented the Initial Vision Scenario for Plan Bay Area, the region’s plan for growth over the next 25 years.

Greenbelt Alliance, along with a coalition of transportation and land-use non-profits, is leading efforts to ensure that Plan Bay Area is beneficial to cities and residents, and we wanted to share our response to the first draft of the plan.

Namely, it’s a good start.

Economic wins: We like that many cities embraced growth in their Priority Development Areas and Infill Opportunity Areas. We’re pleased that so many local governments recognize that by directing growth to areas that rely on our existing infrastructure, they can reduce their costs by about 25%. That’s especially important in this economic climate.

Competitive edge: The plan works to maintain our high quality of life – including affordable homes and convenient transportation options — which CEO members of the Bay Area Council and the Silicon Valley Leadership Group consistently say is needed to draw businesses and workers to the region.

Funding benefits: Local governments are wisely planning their communities in focused, transit-oriented growth patterns to attract increasingly competitive state and federal funds — grants from California’s Strategic Growth Council, Partnership for Sustainable Communities grants  and federal transportation dollars — that reward sustainable planning for livable and walkable communities.

So it’s good, but the Bay Area can do better.

One-third of all developed land in the Initial Vision Scenario is still on greenfields and open space. This is a far cry from the region’s target of 0% greenfield development; future drafts should aim to reach this target.

Making it happen

As the region moves forward with future drafts of Plan Bay Area, which will be adopted as part of the Regional Transportation Plan, it’s essential to direct limited regional transportation dollars to achieve our regional goals for our economy, environment, and social equity.  The cities that are stepping up to grow in a more sustainable. This means we must:

• Seek funding sources to be able to build homes at the necessary levels of affordability for our future population;
• Significantly redirect our regional funding programs to support cities taking on significant new growth in their PDAs;
• Ensure sufficient transit operating funding is directed to those places with the most residents and workers to serve;
• Reconsider where – and if – we expand our transportation network, to make sure we’re supporting this focused growth pattern.

Greenbelt Alliance will continue to monitor this planning process closely. We encourage you to sign-up for our updates and monthly email newsletter to follow our news and policy recommendations for Plan Bay Area.