Region Celebrates Earth Day With Launch of 'One Bay Area' Collaborative Effort at ABAG General Assembly and Summit

OAKLAND, Calif., April 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Four Bay Area regional agencies today are launching a major outreach initiative, One Bay Area, at a regional assembly bringing together 350 Bay Area city and county elected officials, regional leaders and community stakeholders at the Oakland Marriott City Center. The regional agency partners — the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC), the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD) and the Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) — are coming together in a joint General Assembly and summit to mark the beginning of development of the SB 375 Sustainable Communities Strategy for the Bay Area. SB 375 refers to landmark legislation (authored by Daryl Steinberg and passed by the California Legislature in 2008) requiring regions in California to develop strategies for combating climate change and promoting sustainable communities.

"One Bay Area" harnesses the resources of regional agencies, local governments, county congestion management agencies, local planning and public works directors, city and county managers, public transit agencies, community members and stakeholder groups. These agencies must work together to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions produced by cars and light trucks in the region over the next 10-25 years. These efforts will be showcased on a new website launched today, located at www.OneBayArea.org.

"One Bay Area underscores the simple and fragile fact that there is only one Bay Area to pass on to our children and grandchildren," said Scott Haggerty, chair of MTC and Alameda County supervisor, who will be one of the speakers at the Summit.

The Bay Area has already established a positive framework for managing growth, a situation that gives the region a leg up in crafting the state-mandated Sustainable Communities Strategy. Cities in the region have voluntarily established 120 Priority Development Areas — parcels that have access to public transit and are appropriate for growth. The regional agency partners have determined that these Priority Development Areas, spread across 60 jurisdictions, can sustainably address half of the projected region's growth while using only 3 percent of the Bay Area's land.

"By integrating land use and transportation, we're leading the way in protecting the economy, environment and the health of our communities," said ABAG President and Union City Mayor Mark Green.

Summit Keynote Speaker Michael Woo, dean of the College of Environmental Design at Cal Poly Pomona and Los Angeles planning commissioner, will set the stage, sharing his experience and insights as chair of Smart Growth America, the national coalition advocating compact development and transit, bicycle and pedestrian programs, and as the Southern California consultant to ClimatePlan, the statewide coalition promoting better coordination of local land use and transportation plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Summit's panels, discussions and polling will focus on sustainable land use and transportation priorities, while looking at ways to provide support and incentives for making Priority Development Areas successful. Also in the spotlight are approaches to allocating the Bay Area's growth — around 2 million people over the next 25 years —  in a manner that is environmentally sustainable and improves Bay Area quality of life.

Participants will also have the opportunity to explore an interactive showcase of innovative local sustainability projects featuring Richmond, Santa Rosa and Sunnyvale downtown specific plans, the Contra Costa Centre Transit Village, the City and County of San Mateo's TDM Guidelines, GreenTRIP, Safe Routes to School, Electric Vehicle Corridor Projects, and BCDC's Rising Tides international competition for ideas responding to sea level rise in the Bay.

During a luncheon ceremony, the Fourth Annual Growing Smarter Together Awards will be presented to Albany, Richmond, Livermore, the City and County of San Francisco, and Contra Costa County, with a distinguished Leadership Award going to East Bay Regional Park District Board Member Beverly Lane.

SOURCE Metropolitan Transportation Commission