ABAG is owned and operated by the cities and counties of the San Francisco Bay Area. It was established in 1961 to protect local control, plan for the future, and promote cooperation on areawide issues. In recent years, ABAG has answered the needs of its members by providing low-cost services that save the taxpayers millions of dollars.

The General Assembly is the overall governing body of the organization. Each member city and county designates a representative. ABAG's operations are directed by an Executive Board composed of 38 elected officials from member cities and counties. Much of ABAG's work is carried on by committees appointed by the Executive Board, including joint committees with the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Bay Area Air Quality Management District. Advisory committees and task forces are appointed from time to time to oversee special programs in areas such as air quality, water quality, energy, and economic development. All meetings are open to the public.

Regional Planning

In ABAG's region there are 100 cities and the nine counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Sonoma. More than 6 million people live in this 7,000 square mile area.

Where will they live, where will they work, will transportation be adequate? How can we control air and water pollution, will water supplies be sufficient? Are we prepared for a major natural disaster? These are the kinds of questions that cannot be addressed easily without cooperative action among many agencies, organizations, and the general public. One of ABAG's vital functions is to provide a forum to resolve local differences through workable compromises. Its active public information program encourages citizen involvement in planning and policy decisions.

Through its role as an association of cities and counties, ABAG has been designated by the state and federal governments as the official comprehensive planning agency for the Bay Area. Its locally adopted Regional Plan provides a policy guide for planning the region's housing, economic development, environmental quality, transportation, recreation, and health and safety.

The association also sponsors workshops and conferences where local officials, business and industry leaders, special interest groups, and private citizens can discuss programs, regulations, and legislation affecting their communities.

ABAG Services

As city and county budgets are tightened in the slipknot of rising costs and diminishing income, ABAG stretches its services to ease the effect. ABAG offers cost-saving services to its members including demographic information and data analysis, capital financing, liability and property insurance, workers' compensation administration, conference services, and specialized training programs including introductory and advanced HTML and web graphics to assist local government agencies in designing and maintaining their online presence.