On November 11, 2024, ECOS submitted a letter to the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) regarding a suggested policy regarding the performance of projects included in the 2025 SACOG Blueprint.
Tag Archives: SACOG
ECOS Climate Committee Meeting feat. SACOG, 11/18/2024
SB 375 has been the “North Star” of regional climate action in California since Darrell Steinberg got it enacted sixteen years ago.
With half of State GHG emissions coming from vehicles, it requires State transportation funds to only go planning agencies (SACOG here) that show how they can fund transportation systems in a way that can achieve State-mandated GHG reductions.
This has been challenging, as we see Caltrans continue to expand freeways, and as Sacramento County supervisors continue to approve sprawl development.
After 16 years, a lot has changed — SACOG wants SB 375 to be paused until it can be revised.
On Monday, let’s hear why – from SACOG’s leader. And also – from an academic leader – should it be revised, and if so, how?
AGENDA
6 PM: Welcome and Introductions
6:10 PM: Why does SACOG want the State to pause its SB 375 target setting process?
CA Senate Bill 375 (Steinberg, 2008) provides the framework for reducing GHG emissions, requiring the Air Resources Board to set regional targets: for SACOG, 19% per capita vehicle GHG emission reduction, from 2018 to 2035. CARB is now working on establishing future targets for CA regions. In his last “State of the City” address, Sacramento Mayor Steinberg cited SB 375 as a notable legislative achievement.
- James Corless, Executive Director, Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) will explain why he (and other regional planning agencies) asked CARB to pause its SB 375 target. Link to letter: https://calcog.org/why-are-mpos-seeking-a-pause-on-sb-375-target-setting
- Amy Lee, postdoctoral scholar at UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies, will provide a perspective. Amy studied with UC Davis Prof. Susan Handy in Transportation Policy, including study of regional transportation planning and induced travel. Amy previously worked at SACOG.
7:20 PM: Q&A, Discussion
7:50 PM: Updates
• Lawsuits over Caltrans’ plan to add lanes to I-80 in Yolo County
• Sacramento County Climate Action Plan, & County’s Climate Emergency Mobilization Task Force
• ECOS’ work with SacRT to highlight benefits of public transit
• Election Recap – Sacramento Region
Link to join: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/6656164155
To phone in: 669-900-6833, Meeting ID: 665 616 4155
Will Sacramento freeways get multiple express lanes like planned? Judges will decide
By Tom Philp | July 31, 2024 | The Sacramento Bee
Asked last year why Caltrans ignored the SACOG alternative, spokesman Dennis Keaton said, “A multiple express lane alternative was never requested by SACOG to be analyzed.” Yet examining alternatives is the law. Complying with regional plans is also in Caltrans’ guidelines. Environmental groups have made these glaring weaknesses the basis of lawsuits filed in Alameda County Superior Court. The groups include the Sierra Club, the Environmental Council of Sacramento, PCL, the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Center for Biological Diversity.
Read more at: https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/article290584834.html#storylink=cpy
APA Speaker Series (2024)
Presented by Sacramento Valley Section APA (American Planning Association) and Caltrans
DO THE RIGHT THING
As planning, design, and community development professionals, most of us chose our professions because we want to “Do the Right Thing.” But when you’re working to solve complicated, multi-faceted challenges like climate change, the housing crisis, and structural inequities, with many stakeholders and limited resources and power, determining what that right thing is can be hard to define. And once defined, it can be even harder to implement. By bringing together diverse perspectives from various disciplines, industries, and backgrounds, this Speaker Series will explore this notion of what it means to “do the right thing,” how there isn’t one right answer, and how we can use these ideas to connect to a sense of purpose, challenge the norm, and collectively work towards a common goal.
All sessions will be held from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. Please check in prior to 9:30 a.m.
Join us for networking after each session from 11:30 to Noon
West Sacramento Community Center, 1075 West Capitol Avenue, West Sacramento
Free parking at 1271 West Capitol Avenue (behind Walgreens)
A Live Streaming option is available for all sessions at the same price as attending in person.
ECOS letter to SACOG re 2025 BP Developing + Potentially Developing Communities
On May 29, 2024, ECOS submitted a letter to SACOG regarding SACOG’s 2025 Blueprint MTP/SCS – Study of Developing Communities and Potentially Developing Communities. Below is an excerpt of our letter.
ECOS has conducted an analysis related to housing units in the Developing Communities and Potentially
Developing Communities in SACOG’s land use scenarios for the 2025 Blueprint (MTP/SCS). We would
appreciate your sharing this letter and attachments with your Committees in June.
SACOG: 2025 Blueprint Discussion Scenario
On April 18, 2024, ECOS sent the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) a letter regarding Item #15 on their board meeting agenda, the 2025 Blueprint Discussion Scenario.
Below is an excerpt from our letter.
ECOS supports SACOG’s Option 3 of its Discussion Scenario: “Prioritizing Build Out and More Complete Communities”. This option assumes more complete build-out of developing and potential developing communities but in fewer places. SACOG needs to prioritize those developing communities that have the strongest likelihood of lower vehicle- VMT based on factors like proximity to existing development and jobs/housing balance.
