SEATTLE — The Puget Sound Regional Council adopted VISION 2040, the region's new long-range growth management, economic and transportation strategy at its annual General Assembly meeting yesterday.

"VISION 2040 provides a regional context for local decision-making - based on an agreed upon path toward the future," said Tacoma Councilmember Mike Lonergan, Chair of the Growth Management Policy Board, which led the project. "This means clear direction for working together on issues that transcend jurisdictional boundaries."

VISION 2040 is 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.

Ninety-seven percent of PSRC's membership voted in favor of adoption, with Kitsap County splitting commissioners their votes and Dupont and University Place voting no.

PSRC honored William Ruckelshaus, leadership council chair of the Puget Sound Partnership with a President's VISION 2020 Award for his sustained environmental leadership. The Puget Sound Partnership is tasked with developing an action agenda to restore the health of the Sound.

"I suspect that the action agenda for all 12 counties of Puget Sound will look much like your VISION 2040 document for King, Kitsap, Pierce, and Snohomish. In fact, if your vision statement had been a little more geographically ambitious, covered all 12 counties with the requisite local governmental and citizen buy-in, and it was being implemented. It might not have been necessary to create the Puget Sound Partnership. In my judgment," said Mr. Ruckelshaus, "the future of Puget Sound will largely be a function of how wisely we can fashion land use practices that can protect spaces -- from shorelines to the cascades in the east and the shorelines to the Olympics in the west."

PSRC also honored five other regional achievements for their success at implementing VISION 2020, the region's former growth strategy.

The 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.

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.