Updating Plan Bay Area is a public process. Photo by Noah Berger.
Final adoption of Plan Bay Area 2040, the four-year update to the region’s land use and transportation plan, will happen in June of 2017. That may seem like a long way off, but a lot of work remains to be done on the plan, which will balance the Bay Area’s future mobility and housing needs with other economic, environmental, and public health goals.
The next step in updating the plan is collecting public input about three alternative draft scenarios for accommodating regional growth.
Detailed information about the three scenarios was presented today to officials for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, which, in conjunction with the Association of Bay Area Governments, is responsible for developing and approving the plan.
The information about the three scenarios may be reviewed here.
Starting later this month, members of the public will have the chance to grapple with the three scenarios in person at a series of open houses in each Bay Area county:
- Contra Costa County – Thursday, May 26, from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the East Bay Center for the Performing Arts at 339 11th Street in Richmond
- Santa Clara County – Thursday, May 26 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Tech Museum at 201 South Market Street in San José
- San Mateo County – Wednesday, June 1 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the City of Burlingame Recreation Center at 850 Burlingame Avenue in Burlingame
- Alameda County – Thursday, June 2 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Joseph P. Bort MetroCenter at 101 8th Street in Oakland
- Marin County – Saturday, June 4 from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the Corte Madera Community Center at 498 Tamalpais Drive in Corte Madera
- Napa County – Thursday, June 9 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the Elks Lodge at 2840 Soscol Avenue in the City of Napa
- Solano County – Monday, June 13 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the Solano County Events Center at 601 Texas Street in Fairfield
- Sonoma County – Monday, June 13 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the Luther Burbank Center for the Arts at 50 Mark West Springs Road in Santa Rosa
The public outreach effort to engage stakeholders about the scenarios will also include:
- Surveying of residents by five community-based organizations that work in low-income communities and communities of color
- Surveying of residents through a telephone poll
- A tribal summit with representatives of Native American tribes
Input collected through the open houses and other outreach efforts will be presented to MTC and ABAG officials in July, in preparation for their deciding on a preferred scenario in September.
In addition to the process of reviewing the scenarios, MTC and ABAG are also currently seeking comments on Plan Bay Area’s Draft Environmental Impact Report at a series of three regional scoping meetings:
- Thursday, May 26 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Room 225 of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library at One Washington Square in San Jose
- Tuesday, May 31 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in the Joseph P. Bort MetroCenter at 101 8th Street in Oakland
- Thursday, June 2 from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in Finley Community Center at 2060 W. College Avenue in Santa Rosa