Please tune into the SACOG Land Use & Natural Resources Committee Meeting – Thursday, March 7, 2024 at 1:30 PM, SACOG Board Room, 1415 L Street, Sacramento 95814.
Of particular interest:
On February 23, 2024, ECOS submitted our comments on the draft American River Common Feature, 2016 Flood Risk Management Project (project) Sacramento, California Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement/Supplemental Environmental Impact Report (SEIS/SEIR).
On February 12, 2024, ECOS sent a letter to the City of Sacramento to follow up on the Natomas Basin discussion in the context of the City’s General Plan Update at the Jan 25, 2024 Planning and Design Commission Meeting.
On January 31, 2024, ECOS submitted a letter to Todd Smith, Planning Director of Sacramento County Planning and Environmental Review, regarding the Notice of Preparation of a Subsequent Environmental Impact Report and Public Scoping Meeting for the Sacramento County Climate Action Plan.
ECOS offers two comments on the subject document, summarized below. Please see our letter for supporting information.
On January 29, 2024, ECOS submitted a letter to the Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) Boards in the Sacramento Area about Environmental Community Based Representation.
Below is an excerpt of the letter.
Groundwater management has taken a huge step forward with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) and the formation of Groundwater Sustainability Agencies (GSA) throughout California. The Environmental Council of Sacramento (ECOS) is very supportive of the Sacramento Area GSA efforts to develop and begin implementation of their Groundwater Sustainability Plans (GSP) and feels the Region has done a good job of working through a multitude of technical issues. ECOS believes implementation of these GSPs requires close coordination between the GSAs, water purveyors, and the public as evidenced by our comments on the GSP annual reports to the State. One way coordination can be improved is through the inclusion of broader representation on GSA Boards of Directors.
Join CARB for this research seminar which explores changes to land use and transportation in the downtown areas of Fresno, Sacramento, and Santa Monica. The project aimed to measure the effect of these changes on vehicle miles traveled.
Date: Tuesday, February 27, 2024
Time: 1:00 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Location: Webinar
Background
Senate Bill 375 (2008) directed the California Air Resources Board to collaborate with the state’s Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) to set regional targets for reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from passenger vehicles. Under this legislation California’s MPOs are required to adopt Sustainable Communities Strategies (SCSs) that lay out the strategies by which the region will achieve its GHG reduction targets, including strategies to reduce vehicle miles travel (VMT). Some strategies to reduce VMT include changes to the built environment, to both land development patterns and the transportation system, which reduce the need for driving. As one way to evaluate the effectiveness of these strategies, this project used available data to examine changes in travel patterns associated with changes in land-use patterns and the transportation system in three case study downtown areas: Fresno, Sacramento, and Santa Monica. For more information and detailed findings, visit the project webpage or contact the Research Division. The project webpage will host the final report and seminar recording once they become available.
Biography
The Principal Investigator, Susan Handy, is a professor in the Department of Environmental Science and Policy at the University of California at Davis, where she teaches in the Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning major and in the Transportation Technology and Policy Program. She is the director of the National Center for Sustainable Transportation, part of the federal university transportation centers program. Her research focuses on the relationships between transportation and land use, particularly the impact of land use on travel behavior, and on strategies for reducing automobile dependence. Her recent work includes projects for CARB and Caltrans on methods for evaluating the impacts on vehicle travel of proposed land development and transportation projects. Her new book, Shifting Gears: Toward a New Way of Thinking About Transportation, is published by MIT Press.
Mailing address: PO Box 1526, Sacramento, CA 95812
Email: office [at] ecosacramento [dot] net
909 12th St., Suite 203, Sacramento, CA 95814