County by County: New Partners for Regional Planning

County congestion management agencies (CMAs) are being encouraged to participate more extensively in smart growth planning in the region through a series of grants from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC). The new program, called Transportation Planning and Land Use Solutions (T-PLUS), will be financed for three years, with annual grants totalling $1.35 million going to CMAs that sign onto the memoranda of understanding and funding agreements. All nine counties are participating in the first year of T-PLUS.

While responsibilities of CMAs vary by county, they are primarily responsible for transportation planning. Their governing boards are local elected officials who are also responsible for land use decisions in their own jurisdictions. Although a majority of Commissioners on MTC's 19-member board are also local elected officials, CMAs often have the best opportunities to discuss the connections between local land use planning and county and regional transportation planning, because every jurisdiction in a county can be represented on a CMA.

The general scope of work for T-PLUS focuses on four transportation/land use priorities for MTC:

• The Transportation for Livable Communities/Housing Incentives Programs (TLC/HIP). These two programs fund projects which integrate transportation with land use, such as streetscapes, improved transit access, and bike and pedestrian improvements, or which encourage high density housing near transit.
• Smart Growth policy development and program implementation. Following the completion of the Smart Growth Strategy (see August/September 2002 issue), MTC is encouraging workshops, the development of modeling tools and best practices " toolkits", and other incentives and strategies to implement the smart growth concepts adopted for the region.
• MTC Resolution 3434 planning and implementation. Resolution 3434 focuses on transit corridors and regional transit policies, which need local actions such as transit-oriented development to be successful.
• Mitigation programs. Transportation-related impacts can be reduced or offset with mitigation programs such as more extensive transit usage and ridesharing, and the use of mitigation banks.

Each CMA's approach to the new program, while having similar elements, is somewhat unique. Certain parts of the T-PLUS program will apply to all CMAs that participate; all will assist MTC with the monitoring and delivery of the TLC/HIP program, will provide an annual report to MTC, and are expected to address all four general areas to some degree. Beyond that, CMAs can tailor elements of the general workscope to fit their local needs and opportunities.

The variety of uses for the T-PLUS grants was evident at a presentation by CMAs to the MTC Planning and Operations Committee. During the first year of the program, Alameda and Contra Costa Counties will be working on transit-oriented development (TOD) planning, particularly for areas near current or proposed BART stations. Marin and Sonoma Counties will be developing their tool kits, while Solano and Santa Clara Counties will be expanding the use of toolkits which have already been developed. San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara Counties plan to increase the use of incentives for appropriately located housing. Countywide TLC/HIP plans will be developed and implemented in Marin, Napa, Solano and Sonoma Counties. Napa is also using its resources during the first year to develop a countywide development strategy that is intended to integrate not only transportation and land use issues but also issues related to economic development, housing, the environment, and potential institutional changes to foster increased inter-jurisdictional collaboration. Other options, such as workshops, implementing transportation impact fees and working on corridor plans, are also part of many CMA work plans for the first year.

A kickoff meeting in June allowed participants to share tools and ideas and brought together staff and board representatives from MTC and each CMA. Along with discussions on adding staff, using toolkits and working with ABAG on housing allocations, participants raised other issues. Several local elected officials commented that the counties differ greatly in their approaches to land use and transportation decisions. In Santa Clara, the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority was created to merge transportation and land use decisions, and San Mateo's CCAG does both, but in Sonoma and Contra Costa Counties, local officials seem concerned about giving CMAs additional responsibility for integrating transportation with land use.

Steve Heminger, MTC Executive Director, noted that at the June 2003 Transportation 2030 Summit, there was support for smart growth but a strong desire to keep local control. Marci Coglianese, Councilmember from Rio Vista, observed that many cities are already using alternative transportation modes, working with urban limit lines, and using the concepts in the TLC program, but are uncomfortable with the words "smart growth" because of the implication that a regional policy will be implemented from the top down.

The T-PLUS program is intended to move funding from the regional to the local level, providing the flexibility to implement the regional policies at the local level in ways which are most appropriate to the variety of communities in the region. In a recent letter from the CMAs to the ABAG/MTC Task Force, Mike Zdon, CMA Moderator, stated, "The T-PLUS Program recognizes the importance of planning comprehensively. It strengthens the CMA, MTC and ABAG coordinative process. Most importantly, T-PLUS, which recognizing the overall policy guidance of regional agencies, provides local land use and transportation decision makers (who sit on CMA boards) the flexibility to adapt regional policy to specific local needs."

For more information: Mike Zdon, CMA Coordinator, Napa County Transportation Planning Agency, 707-259-8634; mzdon@nctpa.net