ltc, annual forum, greener california: impacts of senate bill 375 and winning strategies for...
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Rick Bishop; Executive Director, Western Riverside Council of Governments (WRCOG)TRANSCRIPT
www.wrcog.cog.ca.us
SB 375What does it mean for Western Riverside County?
Leonard Transportation Center ForumMay 22, 2009
Doubletree Hotel, Ontario, CA
Rick BishopExecutive Director
www.wrcog.cog.ca.us
1. Land use changes
2. Transportation investments
3. Transportation policies TDM -strategies to impact driving habits
Several ways to get to VMT reductions…
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How are we reacting to SB 375 thus far?
1. Freaking out 2. Asleep
www.wrcog.cog.ca.us3. Asleep but appearing to pay attention
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How should we be reacting?
1. Perplexed/confused 2. Confident
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Why perplexed / confused?
1. Currently no sanctions against “non-conforming” SCS
2. The “Alternative Planning Scenario” (?)
3. Uncertain whether all jurisdictions need to comply with SCS
4. Uncertain about scope of what’s needed to reach targets
5. RHNA linkage
6. No funding for SCS preparation
www.wrcog.cog.ca.us
Why confident?1. We know where we will end up…
• WRCOG subregion will grow by 1.1 million by 2035
• 40,000 new residents each year…
It is foolish to act / plan as if it won’t happen…
… the key is whether we can frontload the evolution.
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Why confident?
2. The majority of future households will be comprised of:
- Single-parent households- Baby boomers- Empty-nesters- Couples without children
The traditional two-parent household
withchildren is now less than a quarter of the
population and getting proportionally
smaller. (Higher Density Development Myth and
Fact – Urban Land Institute)
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Why confident?
3. Signs point to greater acceptance among WRCOG residents of a changed land use mix in future
42% expressed interest in living in a transit village in the next 2 years14% “very interested”
Source: WRCOG survey, 2007
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TOD Demonstration Project Study generated significant interest
CORONA
PERRIS
RIVERSIDE
MARCH JPA
HEMET
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What’s TUMF got to do with it?
- Western Riverside Transportation Uniform Mitigation Fee (TUMF) Program
- Largest multi-jurisdictional transportation fee program in United States
- Will provide nearly $5 billion for improvements to WRCOG-area arterials, interchanges, intersections
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600,000 MORE JOBS IN WESTERN RIVERSIDE BY 2035
- Could result in a significant commute shift in the region as thousands of freeway trips to coastal counties will be reduced in length or eliminated;
- BUT, those trips will be redistributed among the subregion’s local roads and arterials;
- If not planned for, could be a disaster for the subregion’s internal arterial system.
www.wrcog.cog.ca.us
Western Riverside Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan• will conserve 153,000 acres of habitat
• de facto densification of the subregion?
www.wrcog.cog.ca.us
Some observations in general…
1. With 6 million more people coming (and 2 million more homes) we shouldn’t need SB 375 to help us “re-think” our planning approaches.
2. Greenhouse gas discussions here to stay “Environment vs. Economy” argument is weakening
3. What has “worked” in the past probably won’t in the future
- changing demographics- transportation policies / priorities- water availability- energy constraints and costs
www.wrcog.cog.ca.us
Existing transportation network / policies Mistrust
of government Anti-growth NIMBYfear Community mind set ParochialismRESISTANCE TO HIGHER DENSITY No vision Lack of positive media Unpredictability of public financing No sense of
urgency…
Be confident… but realistic
www.wrcog.cog.ca.us
“Can Western Riverside get ahead of the urban evolutional process and build TOD’s and higher densities NOW rather than waiting?”
It needs to.
www.wrcog.cog.ca.us
Four point plan for success
1. Political leadership is vital
2. Proactive planning among private and public sectors
3. Multi-agency cooperation
4. Need to stay the course