INTRODUCTION
This Action Program represents a consensus
of the five regional regulatory and planning agencies within the Bay Area on
how to begin to make the Bay Area a better place to live, now and many years
into the future. The agencies, of course, are already engaged in activities
that promote a higher quality of life - this Action Program overlays the
concept of sustainability in order to tie certain independent activities
together into a coordinated strategy
BACKGROUND OF THE REGIONAL AGENCIES
GROUP
In 1993, President Clinton created the
President's Council on Sustainable Development to bring people together for the
purpose of finding ways to meet current needs without jeopardizing the future.
The Council published its first major report, Sustainable America: A New
Consensus, in February 1996. In early 1997, several Bay Area members of the
President's Council convened a group of people, representing diverse
organizations and perspectives, which culminated in the formation of the Bay
Area Alliance for Sustainable Development. The Alliance provides a framework to
look at issues more holistically than has sometimes been the case in the past.
The Alliance has a five-person Leadership
Team representing the business, environmental, governmental and social equity
sectors. Within the Leadership Team, the Association of Bay Area Governments
(ABAG) has the responsibility for organizing the public sector so that it might
work more closely together in furthering the objectives of sustainability.
In accordance with this responsibility,
ABAG's president and executive staff hosted a meeting, in November 1997, of the
executive staff and board and commission chairs of the Bay Area Air Quality
Management District, Metropolitan Transportation Commission, San Francisco Bay
Conservation and Development Commission, and San Francisco Bay Regional Water
Quality Control Board. The meeting was called to discuss the role the regional
agencies might play in support of the Bay Area Alliance for Sustainable
Development.
This meeting and subsequent discussions
revealed that one topic of common interest was promoting compact development,
particularly near transit access hubs. Several other themes also emerged. Some
people believed that the focus should be on brownfield sites, some wanted to
focus on low income areas, and some were especially concerned about the
incorporation of more site-specific environmental concerns, such as 1)
preserving streams and other wetlands and 2) reducing stormwater runoff, into
the infill development process.
Based on those conversations, ABAG
prepared a list of types of proposed activities for the group to consider in
addressing these common objectives. In March 1998, the executive staffs of the
five agencies met to discuss the proposed efforts and agreed to move ahead on
continuing to explore ways of working together. This Action Program was
developed as a statement of agreement and as a guide to future activities.
The overall goal of the Regional Agency
Group is to encourage compact development, particularly near transit access
hubs, in manner that complies with the environmental policies of the members of
the Regional Agencies Group. First priority will be given to brownfield sites
and second priority to sites in low income areas, but not all sites identified
for analysis or focused implementation efforts will necessarily include
brownfield sites or be in low income areas. Two types of actions are
contemplated: actions taken by individual regional agencies and actions taken
by the group as a whole.
One major effort that has already been
initiated by ABAG in support of this working group is the provision of GIS
support to identify infill potential near transit access hubs. In addition to
mapping the hubs, the effort will incorporate information on such issues as
current types and intensities of use, site sizes, zoning, infrastructure
availability, neighborhoods of extreme and persistent poverty (as identified by
the Bay Area Partnership), contamination, and other environmental constraints.
This mapping will serve several purposes: it will identify and provide
information to developers and other interested parties on potential infill
sites, begin to indicate the overall potential for infill development in the
Bay Area, and enable the Regional Agency Group in the selection of sites on
which to focus its efforts.
SUSTAINABILITY - BACKGROUND AND
CONCEPT
Because the Regional Agency Group's work
on infill development is being done under the umbrella of sustainability,
particularly as a subset of the efforts of the Bay Area Alliance on Sustainable
Development, some discussion of sustainability and its connection with infill
development is warranted.
While the definition of sustainability is
evolving, as used herein it means improving the overall quality of life for all
people while living within the natural limits of supporting ecosystems.
Sustainability can be envisioned as applying common sense to decisions that
have very important long-range, intergenerational implications. Providing for
future generations is not a novel idea. People vote for bond issues to improve
schools even though they have no children, members of Congress pass legislation
for public works that will not be completed in their lifetimes, and governments
and businesses undertake basic research that may not have any payoff until many
years into the future. Sustainability broadens this future orientation to
include a broad set of resource issues such as energy, air, water, minerals,
natural habitats, and forests.
The concept of sustainability was inherent
in many indigenous cultures and became part of European culture through the
forestry practices of nineteenth century Germany. The concept was broadened in
the 1970s and came into widespread use after the 1987 publication of the World
Commission on Environment and Development, entitled Our Common Future, also
known as the Brundtland Commission Report. This report defined sustainable
development as follows:
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This widely accepted definition is
consistent with the approach taken in this action program as long as the word
"development" does not necessarily mean an indefinite expansion of
our economic system, but refers to a qualitative concept that incorporates
notions of improvement and progress.
One of the fundamental elements of
sustainability is that it addresses the interconnection of ecological,
economic, social and process (participation and decision-making) systems. The
interconnection of systems also cuts across local, regional, and international
levels. These interconnected systems provide a unifying structure for
addressing complex and seemingly conflicting issues, such as how the Bay Area,
and the cities and counties within it, can become sustainable within the
context of larger ecosystems.
Sustainability is not a fixed-end state -
it is a goal and a process, in much the same way that democracy is a goal and a
process. No one can predict how the world will be in twenty, much less several
hundred, years from now. But people and institutions can act in ways that will
allow our democratic, ecological, social, and market systems to remain healthy
and able to adjust to inevitable changes. Sustainability, to be successful,
must offer choices and rely on a market system that has safeguards to ensure
that impacts of different actions are reflected in their costs and on a
political system that allows for effective discussion of alternative policy
implications.
Some practices, for consideration by local
governments and others, that help to promote sustainable development are
included in Appendix A.
COMPACT DEVELOPMENT AND
SUSTAINABILITY
As noted above, the overall goal of this
collaborative effort is to encourage compact development, particularly near
transit access hubs, in a manner consistent with the environmental policies of
the members of the Regional Agencies Group. The connection between this goal
and sustainability is illustrated by examining the following three principles
of sustainable development (these three principles are not all-inclusive):
Reduce Use of Non-Renewable
Resources
Reducing vehicle trips reduces the
consumption of gasoline and the need for petroleum-based products used in road
building. Reducing sprawl reduces the energy embedded in extended
infrastructure, thereby reducing the use of non-renewable energy sources, and
reduces the material used for infrastructure and vehicles. Resource-efficient
building techniques reduce consumption of non-renewable building materials and
improve energy efficiency, thereby reducing the use of non-renewable energy
sources.
Ensure Capability of Natural Systems to
Produce Renewable Resources
Reducing sprawl reduces the threats to
aquifer recharge areas and wetlands. It also protects agricultural lands, thus
helping to ensure future food supplies. More compact development, combined with
proper landscaping, reduces water use. Smaller homes and use of alternative
building materials reduces pressures on increased timber harvesting. Providing
economic incentives for brownfield cleanup through reuse reduces potential for
groundwater contamination.
Maintain the Ability of Natural Systems
to Absorb Pollutants and Other Wastes
Reducing vehicle trips reduces air
pollutants, including greenhouse gases and chemicals that deplete the ozone
layer. Reducing parking lot surface area reduces the amount of contaminants
going into the Bay after rainstorms. More intensive development in selected
locations, such as near transit access hubs, takes development pressures off
the shoreline of the Bay, thus allowing the Bay to perform its natural
functions.
ACTION PLAN
Actions by the Group as a Whole
The five regional agencies already have
taken steps toward achieving a sustainable future - a summary of some of these
activities is contained in Appendix B. The following are potential additional
actions that could be taken by the group as a whole. The specific actions,
their priorities, lead responsible agency, and schedules are scheduled to be
decided by the Regional Agencies Group prior to December 31, 1998.
- Explore ways of sharing GIS and other
data in order to ensure compatibility of analysis and increase operating
efficiency.
- Evaluate successful efforts of infill
development near transit access hubs in the Bay Area to determine the factors
that contribute to success.
- Develop a coordinated effort to
provide technical assistance to local governments or local organizations in
promoting infill development near transit access hubs.
- Encourage local governments to
undertake the following actions:
- Adopt policies in general plans to
support infill development, especially near transit access hubs.
- Adopt regulations on densities, uses,
and design that would encourage transit-oriented development.
- Adopt specific plans and design
guidelines to ensure that as much pre-planning as possible can be accomplished
near transit access hubs.
- Adopt regulations that encourage
multiple-family housing and alternative housing, such as live-work spaces and
cohousing, near transit access hubs.
- Adopt procedures that streamline
permit-review process for infill projects that conform to the general plan.
- Offer permit-processing assistance to
potential builders in infill areas.
- Amend capital improvement programs to
direct infrastructure and public improvements to infill opportunity areas.
- Adopt other policies or regulations
designed to implement transit-oriented infill development.
- Identify changes to the Governor's
Office of Planning and Research (OPR) General Plan Guidelines that would
incorporate sustainability principles, as expressed by the policies of the
members of the Regional Agencies Group, into local general plans.
- Identify changes to the Guidelines for
Implementation of the California Environmental Quality Act that would
incorporate additional sustainability principles, as expressed by the policies
of the members of the Regional Agencies Group, into environmental assessments
and focus review of infill projects on long-range regional and sub-regional
impacts, rather than short-term local traffic and noise issues.
- Support location-efficient mortgage
programs in order to increase housing opportunities near transit access hubs.
Individual Agency Actions
The following are potential actions
that could be taken by individual regional agencies. The specific actions will
be agreed to by the agencies prior to December 31, 1998.
Association of Bay Area
Governments
- Act as a clearinghouse for keeping
track of infill projects near transit hubs and notifying the other regional
agencies so they can write letters of support or provide technical assistance,
as they deem appropriate.
- Provide comments and letters of
support to local governments and other regulatory agencies on environmentally
sound (as defined by policies of the members of the Regional Agencies Group)
infill development projects near transit access hubs.
- Continue regional mapping efforts to
identify all existing transit access hubs, vacant or underutilized land near
the hubs, and existence of environmental issues, such as brownfields or
wetland, near the hubs.
- Continue the two-way dialogue with
local officials, through the Regional Planning Committee and other forums, so
that regional efforts are coordinated with and responsive to local governments.
- Continue the provision of secretariat
services to the Regional Agency Group by convening meetings and providing other
logistic support.
- Participate in, and provide technical
assistance to, the working groups of the Bay Area Alliance for Sustainable
Development.
- Develop links between regional
sustainability indicators and ABAG's operations in order to obtain a clearer
picture of how its operations are contributing to sustainability.
Metropolitan Transportation
Commission
- Place high priority for funding under
the Transportation for Livable Communities Program on projects associated with
infill sites near transit access hubs.
- Participate in and offer expertise to
agencies or groups working to promote infill development at specific transit
access hubs.
- Provide comments and letters of
support to local governments and other regulatory agencies on environmentally
sound (as defined by policies of the members of the Regional Agencies Group)
infill development projects near transit access hubs.
- Participate in, and provide technical
assistance to, the working groups of the Bay Area Alliance for Sustainable
Development.
- Work with transit operating agencies
to encourage and support appropriate levels of transit service to infill
development at specific transit access hubs.
- Work with local Congestion Management
Agencies, perhaps in conjunction with the BAAQMD, to encourage their support of
infill development at transit access hubs.
- Assist in identifying new transit
access hubs to serve potential infill areas that are not currently near
existing transit access hubs.
Bay Area Air Quality Management
District
- Design Transportation Fund for Clean
Air Regional Fund evaluation and scoring criteria to award points for projects
from jurisdictions that have implemented infill development near transit access
hubs.
- Provide comments and letters of
support to local governments and other regulatory agencies on environmentally
sound (as defined by policies of the members of the Regional Agencies Group)
infill development projects near transit access hubs.
- Participate in, and provide technical
assistance to, the working groups of the Bay Area Alliance for Sustainable
Development.
- Distribute guidance on Bay Area
"green building" practices that would promote less air pollution.
- Develop links between regional
sustainability indicators and BAAQMD operations in order to obtain a clearer
picture of how its operations are contributing to sustainability.
San Francisco Bay Conservation
and Development Commission
- Add a new section on sustainable
development in the update to the San Francisco Bay Plan to ensure compatibility
with, and support of, the work of the Regional Agencies Group in promoting
infill development at transit hubs.
- Adopt a process to address Bay fill,
public access, and other legal mandates related to development of increased
ferry service from a comprehensive, rather than a project-by-project, basis.
- Provide comments and letters of
support to local governments and other regulatory agencies on environmentally
sound (as defined by policies of the members of the Regional Agencies Group)
infill development projects near transit access hubs.
- Participate in, and provide technical
assistance to, the working groups of the Bay Area Alliance for Sustainable
Development.
- Develop links between regional
sustainability indicators and BCDC operations in order to obtain a clearer
picture of how its operations are contributing to sustainability.
San Francisco Bay Regional Water
Quality Control Board
- Develop and promulgate a set of
brownfields cleanup principles tailored for the Bay Area.
- Place high staff priority on
assessing, at an early stage of the planning process, the magnitude of possible
contamination and other environmental issues related to water quality problems
at designated potential infill sites near transit hubs.
- Place high staff priority on a
proactive approach to working with local governments and landowners, preparing
risk management plans, and identifying potential state and federal funding
sources for brownfields sites within priority infill areas near transit hubs.
- Analyze feasibility of creating a
special entity or entities to assume responsibility for conducting long-term
monitoring of brownfield sites within priority infill areas near transit hubs.
- Provide comments and letters of
support to local governments and other regulatory agencies on environmentally
sound (as defined by policies of the members of the Regional Agencies Group)
infill development projects near transit access hubs.
- Participate in, and provide technical
assistance to, the working groups of the Bay Area Alliance for Sustainable
Development.
- Develop links between regional
sustainability indicators and RWQCB operations in order to obtain a clearer
picture of how its operations are contributing to sustainability.
APPENDIX A: PRACTICES TO PROMOTE
INFILL DEVELOPMENT
In order to promote the overall goal of
encouraging compact development, particularly near transit access hubs and in a
manner consistent with the environmental policies of the members of the
Regional Agencies Group, the following practices are presented for
consideration by those involved in designing and planning for new development:
- Infill development near transit access
hubs should be organized into new or existing neighborhoods, with neighborhood
centers whenever possible, and be integrated with the existing urban pattern.
- Infill development near transit access
hubs should be of a sufficient density or intensity to optimize the ability of
people to walk to the transit hub from their homes or to their jobs.
- Infill development near transit access
hubs should be comprised of a mix of uses, including housing, in order to
provide a synergy among uses and to improve safety by keeping more eyes on the
street.
- Infill development near transit access
hubs should include a mix of appropriate housing types, day care facilities,
schools, health clinics, playgrounds, and safe streets in order to ensure that
the area meet the needs of children and families.
- Infill development near transit access
hubs should contain a mix of convenience sales and services to enable transit
users to conduct routine business without having to drive to a separate
location.
- Infill development near transit access
hubs should be designed to encourage bicycle and pedestrian access, including
access for the elderly, young, and disabled.
- Infill development near transit access
hubs should minimize required parking spaces in order to keep development costs
down, encourage a compact urban form, and reduce stormwater pollution from
parking lot runoff.
- Infill development near transit access
hubs should use landscaping and lighting to discourage crime while improving
the built environment.
- Infill development near transit access
hubs should encompass the efficient use of energy, including street
orientation, building placement, and shading, and the substitution of renewable
energy sources for non-renewable energy sources whenever possible.
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- Infill development near transit access
hubs should be compact in order to conserve energy and materials used in the
building and maintenance of streets and other infrastructure.
- Infill development near transit access
hubs should use resource efficient building practices and operational
principles in order to reduce the need for energy, water, and materials,
thereby resulting in improved water and air quality.
- Infill development near transit access
hubs should encourage actions that substitute moving information (through
telecommuting and teleshopping) for moving people and vehicles.
- Infill development near transit access
hubs should include recharging facilities for electric cars and refueling
stations for natural gas and other alternative-fuel vehicles.
- Infill development near transit access
hubs should respect the nearby natural environment, including riparian
corridors, wetlands, and other sensitive habitats, consistent with applicable
state and federal laws.
- Infill development near transit access
hubs should encourage natural drainage, use permeable instead of impervious
surfaces whenever feasible, and design parking areas to minimize pollution from
stormwater runoff.
- Infill development near transit access
hubs should utilize drought tolerant landscaping and maximize the use of
reclaimed water.
- Infill development near transit access
hubs should include recycling collection bins.
- Infill development near transit access
hubs should use alternative wastewater systems whenever feasible in order to
help achieve adopted water quality objectives.
- Infill development near transit access
hubs should provide for the removal of lead-based paints from existing
buildings, especially where children have access.
- Infill development near transit
access hubs should be encouraged by using environmental review processes that
focus on long-term resource issues, not on short-term traffic or noise impacts.
APPENDIX B: AGENCY
ACTIVITIES
This appendix contains a very brief
overview of the current and recent activities of the five regional agencies as
they relate to sustainability and infill development.
Association of Bay Area
Governments
The Association of Bay Area Governments
(ABAG) is a comprehensive planning agency for the nine-county Bay Area, with
the mission to strengthen cooperation and coordination among local governments.
ABAG runs a number of programs, including the Sustainability Strategies program
that focuses on its leadership position in the Bay Area Alliance for
Sustainable Development. ABAG has published a number of relevant reports,
including the recent Trends and Challenges report and Making Better
Communities by Linking Land Use and Transportation. In cooperation with the
Bay Area Air Quality Management District, it has prepared Improving Air
Quality Through Local Plans and Programs (two documents) and Design
Strategies for Encouraging Alternatives to Auto Use Through Local Development
Review. ABAG is a member of the Leadership Team for the Bay Area Alliance
for Sustainable Development, serves as the secretariat for the Regional
Agencies Group, and has initiated the regional mapping analysis of infill
potential.
Metropolitan Transportation
Commission
The Metropolitan Transportation
Commission (MTC) is the transportation planning, coordinating, and financing
agency for the nine-county Bay Area. MTC functions as the state-designated
regional transportation-planning agency and, for federal purposes, as the
region's metropolitan planning organization (MPO). It is responsible for
preparing the Regional Transportation Plan and screening requests from local
agencies for state and federal grants to determine compatibility with the plan.
MTC has a direct interest in promoting infill development near transit access
hubs as expressed in its report entitled Moving Toward More
Community-Oriented Transportation Strategies for The San Francisco Bay
Area. This report includes objectives of enabling residents to use a range
of travel modes and providing for development of housing and regional activity
centers accessible to the transit network. In furtherance of these objectives,
it sponsors the Transportation for Livable Communities Program that supports
development plans and projects that link transportation investments and
community needs.
Bay Area Air Quality Management
District
The Bay Area Air Quality Management
District (BAAQMD) is the regional agency that regulates sources of air
pollution within the nine San Francisco Bay Area Counties. It, in cooperation
with MTC and ABAG, prepares the Bay Area Clean Air Plan - the latest
version was adopted by the BAAQMD in 1997. TCM #15 in the Clean Air Plan
encourages compact land use patterns, infill development, and mixed land uses
near transit centers and corridors. It has promulgated CEQA Guidelines:
Assessing Air Quality Impacts of Projects and Plans and, in association
with ABAG, Improving Air Quality Through Local Plans and Programs (two
documents) and Design Strategies for Encouraging Alternatives to Auto Use
Through Local Development Review. The BAAQMD is interested in promoting
infill development near transit access hubs because this strategy will reduce
automobile use, a major cause of air pollution in the Bay Area. Secondarily, it
is interested in energy-efficient development and "green" building
and maintenance practices that also will result in reduced air pollutants.
San Francisco Bay Conservation and
Development Commission
The San Francisco Bay Conservation and
Development Commission (BCDC) is a state agency which protects the Bay pursuant
to the McAteer-Petris Act and also administers the federal Coastal Zone
Management Act within the San Francisco Bay segment of the California coastal
zone. In addition, BCDC has responsibility for administering the Suisun Marsh
Preservation Act. Its primary goals, as discussed in its San Francisco Bay
Plan, are to prevent unnecessary Bay fill, maximize public access, encourage
appropriate development of the shoreline, and promote optimum use and
management of Bay resources. BCDC's interest in infill development focuses on
two primary issues: 1) promoting transit villages at new ferry terminals as a
way of stimulating water transportation as an alternative to building roads on
fill and constructing bridges across the Bay; and 2) providing public access to
the shoreline.
San Francisco Bay Regional Water
Quality Control Board
The San Francisco Bay Regional Water
Quality Control Board (RWQCB) protects water quality in the Bay Area pursuant
to the state Porter-Cologne Act and the federal Clean Water Act. The Board
enforces water quality standards and has adopted a basin plan. The major
interconnections between the Board and infill development are protecting
wetlands and riparian corridors, minimizing pollution from stormwater runoff,
and protecting groundwater from contamination from brownfields sites. Sprawl
development is placing increased pressure on the natural water systems of the
Bay Area through encroachment on wetlands, disruption of aquifer recharge, and
increased use of water and chemicals for landscaping. Also, stormwater runoff
from parking lots is a major source of pollution. The Board is also interested
in seeing that brownfield sites are at least stabilized - infill development
provides a motivating force for cleanup. The Board is one of the participants
in the preparation of the San Francisco Estuary Baylands Ecosystems
Goals report that constitutes a vision of the necessary types, amounts, and
distribution of wetlands and related habitats in the San Francisco Bay Area.
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