MTC and ABAG are working on the Regional Transportation Plan and the Sustainable Communities Strategy (SCS).  MTC is developing detailed scenarios for the SCS.  In July, MTC proposed a One Bay Area grant that would tie funding to the SCS, better linking transportation funding to land use and housing.  This block grant would be for the Congestion Management Agencies (CMAs), who would then have flexibility in how the funds are distributed.  Under the current proposal, the county housing allocations would be based on population, Regional Housing Needs Allocations and actual housing production, and transportation needs.  Other elements of the grant program propose spending 70 percent of the funds in Priority Development Areas (PDAs), setting aside planning funds for Priority Conservation Areas (PCA), and eligibility criteria that includes an adopted Housing Element.  MTC will release a revised draft of the One Bay Area Grant proposal based on stakeholder comments in March 2012, and plans to approve it in May 2012. CMAs will work on the project selection criteria process from June 2012 - March 2013.  MTC will issue a Call for Projects in Spring/Summer 2012.  A link about the block grants can be found on the MTC website at: www.mtc.ca.gov/funding/onebayarea/.

Cities and counties are encouraged to comment on the One Bay Area grant structure along with the SCS Alternative Scenarios, which will be formally released on December 8th.  A draft SCS Preferred Scenario will be created by March 2012.  Upcoming public workshops for San Mateo and Santa Clara County are at the following times and locations:

• San Mateo County - Tuesday, January 10, 2012 5:30 p.m.
  • San Mateo Public Library, 55 West Third Avenue, San Mateo
• Santa Clara County - Wednesday, January 18, 5:30 p.m.
  • Santa Clara County Government Center, 70 West Hedding, San Jose

Also, the State has issued a Request for Proposals for plans, including Climate Action Plans, General Plans, and other planning processes, to implement the SCS. Applications for funds up to $1 million are due February 15, 2012.  http://sgc.ca.gov/planning_grants.html.

Working Committee Members:

MTC - Therese Trivedi
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ABAG - Marisa Raya
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