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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-03-15_cityofsanrafael_866a9dccff79ac15cfda5397e0ce0ed2SUBJECT: Senate Bill 375 and Creation of a Regional “Sustainable Community Strategy” Purpose of the Study SessionPurpose of the Study SessionPurpose of the Study SessionPurpose of the Study Session The Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) have requested that planning directors of each city and county in the Bay Area make a presentation to their governing body to explain the requirements of Senate Bill (SB) 375 and the process underway to prepare a required Sustainable Community Strategy (SCS) for the region. The study session presentation is for informational purposes only, and no action is required. Any questions or comments will be forwarded to ABAG and MTC staff for their consideration. Requirements of SB 375Requirements of SB 375Requirements of SB 375Requirements of SB 375 AB 32, the California Global Warming Solutions Act, mandated a number of strategies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. To reduce emissions from passenger vehicles the legislature passed SB 375 in 2008 which requires that regional land use and transportation plans be prepared and coordinated to achieve GHG reductions. This regional land use/transportation plan is known as the Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS). The California Air Resources Board has subsequently approved GHG reduction targets for regions throughout California, requiring that the Bay Area SCS achieve a 7% reduction in per capita GHGs emitted from passenger vehicles in 2005 by year 2020, and a 15% reduction by 2035. The responsibility for implementing SB 375 falls to each of the 18 Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPO) in California. The Bay Area is unique in that it lacks a single MPO, but instead has four separate regional agencies that provide planning guidance and funding on various regional land use and transportation matters. Those agencies are: Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) There is also a coordinating committee made up of representatives of each of the regional agency boards called the Joint Policy Committee (JPC). ABAG and MTC staff shares the primary responsibility for process management, outreach and technical analysis, but all of the regional agencies and the JPC will have a role in preparation and adoption of the SCS in conjunction with each of the 9 counties and 101 cities and the related county transportation and congestion management agencies that will implement the strategy. This collective effort is being called “One Bay Area” (see the www.onebayarea.org website). A memo and background report prepared by ABAG and MTC is attached to this staff report. Sustainable Communities StrategySustainable Communities StrategySustainable Communities StrategySustainable Communities Strategy The SCS is intended to integrate two previously distinct procedures: MTC’s Regional Transportation Plan (RTP) that directs the investment of billions of federal, state and local dollars toward the operations and maintenance of the region’s public transportation systems, freeways and local roads, as well as funding new and continuing investments in multi-model networks (bike, pedestrian, rail) and transit-oriented developments; and The Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) which is the procedure directed by the State Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) and administered by ABAG to determine how the region and each jurisdiction will accommodate anticipated housing for all income groups through the respective housing elements of the General Plan. The SCS, which must be adopted by 2013, must result in a realistic, coordinated, long- term land use pattern and transportation investment and pricing strategies that are consistent with both the RTP and RHNA, and that meet the mandated GHG reductions. Local agencies are not mandated to amend their local general plans to be consistent with the SCS, but the RHNA housing numbers will continue to affect the preparation and adoption of Housing Elements. To incentivize the recommended land use changes and accommodation of growth at the local level there will be: CEQA exemptions available for development projects which comply with the SCS, Housing Elements consistent with the SCS will require update and state review every eight years instead of every four years, and Available transportation, infrastructure and planning funds will be prioritized for participating agencies. SCS ProcessSCS ProcessSCS ProcessSCS Process As proposed by ABAG and MTC, the SCS will be developed with local input through the iterative review of land use and transportation “scenarios” that will incorporate projected housing needs, anticipated housing and employment growth, essential transportation improvements and efficiencies, compliance with GHG reduction targets and other related performance targets. The scenarios will attempt to maximize growth in designated Priority Development Areas (PDAs) and potential “opportunity sites” “opportunity sites” (non-PDA areas that could accommodate greater development potential). ABAG and MTC estimate that as much as 50% of the region’s projected 25- year growth could occur within planned PDAs. San Rafael has the only two designated PDAs in Marin – the Downtown and the area surrounding the future Civic Center SMART station. The County has a string of Potential PDAs in unincorporated areas along the Highway 101 corridor, but is reconsidering this designation since they include areas such as Marinwood, Los Ranchitos, and Santa Venetia that are not currently planned for much additional development. An “Initial Vision” scenario will be released in early March and will then be the subject of public and local government review and comment (see attached process graphic). The Initial Vision scenario will be “unconstrained,” not taking into account potential policy, infrastructure or resource limitations that might affect the development potential necessary to support the scenario. Following an opportunity for public and local agency review and comment on the Initial Vision scenario, the SCS process will continue with preparation of “Detailed” scenarios that will account for constraints that may limit development potential. These scenarios will also identify resources that may help support a given scenario and meet established performance targets for the SCS. The first round of detailed scenarios will be released in July. Following another round of public and local review and comment, ABAG and MTC expect to release a “Preferred” scenario towards the end of 2011. The Preferred scenario will then become the basis for the preparation of the SCS, RTP, RHNA and an EIR. ABAG and MTC have asked that county Congestion Management Agencies (CMAs) coordinate local review of the scenarios and provide countywide feedback. Marin is unique among Bay Area counties in having a CMA (TAM - the Transportation Authority of Marin) which administers transportation programs alone, without a land use planning function. Supervisor Kinsey has suggested that an ad-hoc committee be formed, composed of a councilmember from each jurisdiction and two supervisors, and staffed by TAM, which would solicit and transmit comments on the SCS scenarios to ABAG and MTC. Possible Implications/IssuesPossible Implications/IssuesPossible Implications/IssuesPossible Implications/Issues 1. Densifying existing urban areas: The SCS will clearly seek to focus much of the regions growth in existing developed areas with existing high-capacity transit service to reverse the past low-density development pattern at the fringes of the urban area which has made Bay Area residents’ vehicle miles travelled among the highest in the nation and such a high proportion of our GHG emissions. ABAG and MTC have already started planning efforts to promote housing growth along transit lines in the previous FOCUS and RHNA processes, giving the Bay Area a head start in moving towards the SCS compared to other regions of the state. 2. Can land use changes and transportation funding stop sprawl? If the SCS scenarios are not projected to achieve sufficient GHG reductions, ABAG and MTC will model the effects of transportation pricing mechanisms such as congestion pricing, parking pricing, increased gas taxes, etc. Very early modeling by ABAG and MTC suggested that transportation pricing has a much greater effect on changing travel behavior than land use changes which will be very slow to yield significant results. 3. The housing/transit chicken/egg dilemma: San Rafael and other communities adopted Smart Growth policies in the 1990s which encouraged higher density development in downtowns and along transportation corridors. Higher densities near services and transit can significantly reduce dependence on the automobile. The theory has been that higher densities would support increased transit service levels, however funding for transit has been significantly reduced in recent years. The SCS assumes that there will be sufficient funding for the increases in transit and local infrastructure (roadway capacity, parking, parks and recreation, etc.) to create desirable and vibrant communities. Insufficient funding to support higher density development will result in unmitigated impacts and public rejection of additional growth. San Rafael in particular would require significant funds to increase road capacity in the Downtown to maximize the potential of this PDA. 4. A longer horizon: The SCS growth assumptions will be issued for each jurisdiction for the year 2035. These growth numbers for a 25-year period will most certainly look large compared to the 8-year RHNA numbers we are accustomed to. In addition, the 2035 projections extend far beyond our growth estimates and policies contained in the General Plan, which has a 2020 horizon. 5. RHNA on steroids: A major concern is that the SCS will increase housing requirements in existing urbanized areas with major transit lines. SB 375 requires that each regional SCS accommodate all the region’s housing needs. In the past the RHNA process has allowed some percentage of the Bay Area’s housing growth projections to be satisfied in adjacent counties outside of ABAG’s jurisdiction (San Joaquin, Lake, San Benito, etc.). As a result, the SCS 25-year projected regional housing need will be a larger number than in past projections. San Rafael can also expect higher RHNA number due to the anticipated operation of SMART. 6. How much is San Rafael’s share of Marin growth? There may be an inclination by ABAG or other Marin jurisdictions to seek to focus much of Marin’s anticipated growth in San Rafael due to our two designated PDAs and two SMART stations. Supervisor Adams has suggested that, for the next round of RHNA allocations, Marin propose to reallocate the housing numbers between jurisdictions, presumably to reduce the allocation to the unincorporated areas and increase them within cities and towns. While San Rafael will most likely support focusing our city’s fair-share growth in our PDAs since this would be consistent with our current General Plan and Climate Change Action Plan, San Climate Change Action Plan, San Rafael would not be likely to support accommodating a disproportionate amount of Marin’s growth potential in our PDAs. 7. Will a coordinated regional plan result from the SCS? Over the past few years, each of the regional agencies, following its own mandate, has established policies and regulations affecting development that can add significant cost to infill development. For example, BAAQMD has adopted CEQA limits for particulates that limit high density housing near major roadways and industrial areas, BCDC is considering new policies affecting bay front land use to address sea level rise and the Regional Water Quality Control Board has adopted standards for impervious surfaces to address storm water runoff. The SCS process offers the opportunity for these agencies to coordinate with ABAG and MTC to incentivize the type and location of infill development necessary to achieve the GHG reduction targets. CEQA reform is also needed to encourage infill development over sprawl. AttachmentAttachmentAttachmentAttachmentssss:::: November 23, 2010 memo from ABAG Planning Director SCS Process Graphic