As drought deepens, Californians are saving less water

By Hayley Smith, Los Angeles Times | March 15, 2022 | The Sacramento Bee

LOS ANGELES — California will end winter in a perilous position as record-shattering dryness converges with lagging water conservation efforts in nearly every part of the state, officials said Tuesday. After months of cutting back, new data from the State Water Resources Control Board show that rather than conserving water, Californians increased urban water use 2.6% in January, compared to the same month in 2020 — the baseline year against which current savings are measured.

New Online Service Makes It Easier to See Developments in City Of Sacramento

March 2, 2022

Interested in seeing what new developments could be planned for your neighborhood?

The City has now made it easier than ever to see what development projects, including home and business construction, are in review or have been approved across the city of Sacramento.

The City’s new online tool, AgencyCounter, allows residents and developers to easily view planning applications and proposed development projects in the city.

Click here to read more.

California’s climate action plans fall behind on equity, sticking instead to boilerplate solutions, new study says

By Manola Secaira | February 28, 2022 | Capitol Public Radio

Sacramento County’s climate action plan is almost finished. When it’s complete, it will join the dozens of other California cities and counties that have created plans to combat climate change on a local level in the last couple decades.
But despite their growing popularity, these plans aren’t without criticism. Environmental justice groups often find faults in their approach – or lack thereof – when it comes to including equity in their planning, like how they address affordable housing or funding public transportation.

Click here to read the article.

Blueprint Then and Now

February 23, 2022

SACOG Honors Blueprint Legacy in the 2024 Long-Range Transportation Plan

How the Blueprint transformed transportation and land-use planning for good

The creation of the Sacramento Region Blueprint was a revolutionary undertaking and compelled a critical assessment of the relationship between transportation and land use in the region. The strategy, completed almost 20 years ago, set the precedent for how metropolitan planning organizations engage in regional design. SACOG has chosen to carry on the innovative strategy’s legacy through the Metropolitan Transportation Plan/Sustainable Communities Strategy (MTP/SCS).

ECOS was key to original Blueprint, as mentioned in this article.

Local environmental groups filed a lawsuit and demanded more from SACOG and its members.

Keep reading at https://www.sacog.org/news/sacog-honors-blueprint-legacy-2024-long-range-transportation-plan.

Sacramento Mayor proposes new funding for affordable housing, infrastructure

February 22, 2022

While speaking at the State of Downtown, Mayor Steinberg announced the possibility of creating a downtown-wide Enhanced Infrastructure Finance District (EIFD). An EIFD is an economic incentive that encourages businesses to invest in our City, allowing Sacramento to invest a percentage of the increased property value back into the central city. This tool is one way to fund our infrastructure, climate, and housing needs.

For a slightly abridged version of the mayor’s speech and a recording of the speech as it was given, please visit: https://engagesac.org/blog-civic-engagement/2022/2/22/mayor-proposes-new-funding-for-affordable-housing-infrastructure-in-state-of-the-downtown-speech.

Want to help improve transportation in Sacramento?

Do you walk, bike or roll using a wheelchair or mobility scooter? Or if you don’t, do you have thoughts on how to make transportation more effective?
Would you like to help improve our sidewalks, bikeways, crosswalks and access to transit?

If the answer is yes, here’s your opportunity to help.

The City of Sacramento is looking for community members to apply to be part of one of the three Sacramento Active Streets community planning teams.

The three planning teams will focus on North Sacramento, Fruitridge/Broadway and South Sacramento areas.

“Each plan will identify locations to improve walking, biking, and access to transit – like sidewalks, crosswalks, bike lanes and more,” said Leslie Mancebo, the City’s transportation planner. “A critical part of the planning process will be community engagement, and we are currently putting together these community planning teams to serve as local experts/advisors throughout the process.”

The City’s Active Streets plans are designed to improve safety and comfort for walking, biking, rolling and accessing transit.

Members of the community planning teams will advise City staff throughout the process to ensure that community voices and priorities are heard. As a member of a community planning Ttam, selected participants will be responsible for:

Attending up to seven approximately one-hour meetings between March 2022 and June 2023
Suggesting opportunities for community engagement events (e.g., farmers markets, school resource fairs, etc.)
Helping spread the word about the plans and about ways to get involved
Advising City staff to ensure voices of all residents are captured in the plan
Each planning team member will receive a $75 gift card for each meeting attended.

Those interested in applying can do so on the City’s website. Applications close March 4.