SEATTLE — The annual General Assembly of the Puget Sound Regional Council meets April 24 at the Westin Hotel in Seattle. Highlights of the meeting include action on VISION 2040, the region's new growth strategy, an amendment to the region's long-range transportation plan, Destination 2030, PSRC's budget and work program, and the election of officers. View the agenda and background materials online at http://www.psrc.org/boards/assembly/gacover.htm.

The VISION 2020 Awards Dinner will follow the meeting and will feature William Ruckelshaus, Chair of the Leadership Council for the Puget Sound Partnership. PSRC will honor him for his contributions to the region as a business leader and collaborative problem-solver, as well as his uncommon sustained environmental leadership.

Other award winners are:
Olympic Sculpture Park transformed the largest undeveloped waterfront property in downtown Seattle and a former industrial site into a vibrant new open space, including environmental restoration and transportation integration.

City of Tacoma's D Street Overpass, a strategic project to increase freight flow and improve pedestrian access between the Dome District transportation hub and the Thea Foss Waterway esplanade.

City of SeaTac Station Area Plans are regional examples for planning transit-oriented areas that accommodate future growth through high-quality residential and mixed-use developments with good access to employment centers.

City of Shoreline Aurora Corridor and Interurban Trail Program revitalized a 3-mile multimodal corridor through Shoreline's main retail center, improving safety, traffic flow and attracting new business to the area.

Pierce County's Housing Affordability Task Force Final Report and Recommendations successfully brought together diverse interests to identify a broad range of solutions, from financial tools and incentives to inexpensive building design.

VISION 2040 is the region's new growth, economic and transportation strategy, designed to meet the needs of the anticipated 1.7 million people and 1.2 million jobs expected in the region (over 2000 population and employment levels). It is an integrated, long-range vision for the future that lays out a strategy for maintaining a healthy region - one that promotes the well-being of people and communities, economic vitality, and a healthy environment. It contains an environmental framework, a numeric regional growth strategy, six policy sections guided by overarching goals as well as implementation actions and measures to monitor progress.

The General Assembly of the Puget Sound Regional Council includes elected representation from all 84 members of the PSRC, including counties, cities, towns, state agencies, transit agencies, ports, and Tribal Governments. The Assembly meets at least annually to vote on key issues regarding the PSRC work program and its leadership.

PSRC develops policies and coordinates decisions about regional growth, economic development and transportation planning in King, Pierce, Snohomish and Kitsap counties. The Council is composed of over 80 county, city, port, transit, tribal and state agencies serving the region. It coordinates the distribution of about $160 million in Federal Highway Administration and Federal Transit Administration funds each year. PSRC sets priorities and evaluates the most efficient ways to target those funds to support state and local transportation and growth management plans.

Title VI Notice: PSRC fully complies with Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and related statutes and regulations in all programs and activities. For more information, or to obtain a Title VI Complaint Form, see http://www.psrc.org/about/titlevi/index.htm or call 206-587-4819.