County Updates

Elected officials will have the chance to participate in an unprecedented regional meeting to discuss their role in the San Joaquin Blueprint Planning Process. The 2008 Executive Forum, on April 25 in Fresno, will be a chance for local elected officials from the eight San Joaquin Valley counties to ask tough questions about the Blueprint and gain knowledge about this unprecedented regional process from land-use planning and policy experts.

Many elected officials have participated in community workshops throughout the eight-counties. The Executive Forum will be an opportunity for these decision-makers to come together with their colleagues to engage in a full discussion about some of the most critical issues in the region and to learn more about the positive impact the San Joaquin Valley Blueprint process can have on their communities.

The Executive Forum will be set up for participation by only elected officials. Staff, stakeholders and members of the public are welcome to attend but will not be seated as members of the forum. There will be an opportunity for public comment.

Please visit www.valleyblueprint.org for more information on this event and to register.

We urge you to encourage your local elected representatives to participate in this important event.

Thank you to Merced County Association of Governments for this contribution.

Should we plan for our future or just let it roll right over us? If plan, then what plan should we follow? What should we emphasize? What should we avoid?

These are some of the tough questions discussed in the San Joaquin Valley Blueprint process. Launched in 2005, the SJV Blueprint is striving to combine the opinions of residents in all eight Valley counties into a cooperative plan for the region from now until 2050.

“It is so important for the public to be involved in the Blueprint because it will affect us in so many ways,” says Marjie Kirn, Deputy Executive Director for MCAG and lead on the Blueprint project. “It positions the Valley to be more effective in getting state and local funding. It helps us address air quality, economic development, housing, land use, regional transportation – all the issues that can’t be solved by one county alone.”

The SJV faces major challenges. One concerns how to handle future growth. Population in the Valley is expected to nearly triple by 2050, from 3.6 million to 9.4 million people, the equivalent of adding 11 new towns the size of Fresno to the area.

Another challenge is preserving agricultural land. How do we keep cities from running together? Development is 1½ times more likely to consume high quality farmland than less productive land. Do we build high density housing? Do we push building onto less productive land?

Poor air quality is costing the Valley $3 billion a year in added expenses for health problems, premature deaths, missed school days, and decreased worker productivity.

Congestion is more noticeable in some counties than others, but overall traffic delays have increased 22%. In San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties, commuter delays increased 52%, and in Fresno and Kern counties delays increased 577%. Do we build more roads for cars or do we invest in public transportation and make it a convenient alternative?

After 300 public meetings and 10,000 participants thus far in Blueprint, numerous suggestions have been made by the public. Agricultural bands between cities, attractive high density housing, and express commute buses are some of the many ideas under consideration.

During the last round of public meetings, with six meetings held in Merced County in October, over 70% of participants wanted to see more medium to high density housing. Over half said that, if it were possible, they would use alternate transportation, such as the bus or bicycling.

Previous to these workshops, visioning meetings were held. One common theme rose clearly to the top: We cannot continue doing business as usual and expect different results.

“We have in-depth discussions at these meetings,” says Kirn. “People realize that, even though the problem seems simple to solve, when you get into it, there are no easy answers.” 

Blueprint teams throughout the Valley are now preparing scenario choices, based on what they’ve heard so far from the public. Another round of public meetings will be held this summer to give Valley residents a chance to make recommendations on the various possible scenarios for the future.

Coordinating the efforts of eight SJV regions has been almost overwhelming at times, but Kirn feels the effort is worth it. “I think more people now realize that planning for growth doesn’t stop at the edge or our own community. We must work together – everyone in the Valley. Also, the tools that will come out of this process will help those who are responsible for local growth plans.”

She also points out that state lawmakers are attaching more “carrots”, in the form of funding, to those regions that follow their Blueprint. But, she adds, that’s not the most important reason people should be involved in Blueprint. “We get involved because we love where we live, and we want the best possible future.”

The Blueprint Regional Advisory Committee (BRAC) met March 28, 2008 at the Petroleum Club in Bakersfield. The BRAC was established as a regional body that will make recommendations pertaining to the creation of the San Joaquin Valley Regional Blueprint. BRAC members include individuals from each of the eight counties participating in the project as well as agencies and organizations essential to the planning and implementation of related policies.

At the March 28 BRAC meeting members were updated on Blueprint happenings throughout the San Joaquin Valley.  This included a presentation of the Vision Product by CirlePoint, a summary of the BRAC Outreach Survey Results, an update on the local scenarios being developed, a presentation on the draft Media Plan, and a review of the next steps for the BRAC.

BRAC members also participated in an interactive session on Valley Scenario Components led by Mike McCoy of UC Davis.  This interactive session asked members to prioritize the importance of components that could be incorporated and considered in the development of the Valley scenarios.

The agenda for future BRAC meetings will include the following topics:

June, 08 - Review of Valley scenarios
September, 08 - Make recommendation for preferred scenario
January, 09 - Participation in Annual Summit
February, 09 - Present recommendation to Policy Council

For more information on the BRAC, including the summary from the March 28 meeting, visit www.valleyblueprint.org/brac.aspx.

The San Joaquin Valley Blueprint Planning Process will result in the development of a cohesive regional framework to address future growth-related issues across the eight counties of the Valley.

Each Valley COG is in the process of holding workshops and engaging their communities in the process of developing localized preferred growth scenarios. The localized process will inform the final regional product.

The following provides an update on what is happening in the localized process for each of the eight San Joaquin Valley counties.

Barbara Steck leads a community workshop in the City of Fowler in Fresno County. To learn what is happening in each of the eight counties see below.

Workshops give opportunity for community input on scenarios
Fresno County community members have a say in the future of the Valley. Their input will have a direct impact on how Fresno County is developed through the year 2050.  The Council of Fresno County Governments (Fresno COG) has developed five “Blueprint” growth scenario options, Each inspired by previous collaboration among business owners, elected officials and the general public.

Fresno COG is taking those scenarios out to the public at 16 workshops held throughout the month of April in each of Fresno County’s incorporated cities. Community members may also review and comment on the scenarios using an online survey on the Fresno COG website at www.fresnocog.org.

It is incumbent upon citizens, as important members of the community, to take the extra steps necessary to voice their opinions so that we can shape this Valley together.

For more information please contact Brenda Lauchner at brendal@fresnocog.org.

Input from the community sought for final growth scenarios
Kings County Association of Governments (KCAG) has begun a series of local governing board presentations and community workshops to present and receive comments on alternative growth scenarios that have been prepared by the local planners throughout Kings County.  The growth scenarios focus on topics such as agriculture, natural resource protection, and transportation corridors.  Comments will be incorporated into the final scenarios and presented to the public at a county-wide summit to be held in the upcoming weeks.  The public is encouraged to attend and vote for their preferred growth scenario.

Residents who are interested in getting involved are invited to contact Chris Lehn of the KCAG office at clehn@co.kings.ca.us.

Outreach process results in four alternative scenarios
During the months of March and April, the Madera County Transportation Commission hosted several Blueprint outreach workshops in Madera, Chowchilla and Oakhurst. Using interactive clicker technology, local residents were polled on issues concerning densities of land use, new transit networks, and highway infrastructure in each of the four alternative scenarios.

Four scenarios have been presented to the public after months of consultation with local planners, elected officials, and interested citizens. The scenarios, representing status quo, low change, moderate change, and major change conditions, will now go on to the MCTC Policy Board, who will choose a preferred scenario based on the outcome of the local outreach process.

More information on the alternative scenarios, including maps, performance measures, and planning assumptions, can be found at www.maderactc.org. For further information, please contact Derek Winning at derek@maderactc.org.